


Maybe In Time

by Tungsten



Series: All For the Sake of Music--Tungsten's Gorillaz Universe [1]
Category: Gorillaz
Genre: 2nu, But not super-explicit or smutty, Eventual Sex, F/M, It's a 2nu fic what do you expect from me, Some Fluff, Some fighting, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-07-25 09:19:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7527139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tungsten/pseuds/Tungsten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2D struggles with his feelings toward the band's young guitarist and his best friend.  He once thought of her almost like a little sister, but certain changes and events change that up a bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heya-
> 
> My first Gorillaz fic. Hooray. I know 2nu is a... shall we say, controversial ship, because he's a whopping 12 years older than she is, but... whatever.  
> I know 2D has a super Cockney accent, but unfortunately I'm an ignorant American who can't write that accent worth crap. So, all accents are removed entirely in the writing. Sorry. Just... imagine it, I suppose.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy. It's not gonna be super long, I don't think- like 4 or 5 chapters- but it'll be a full story, I can assure you.  
> Edit: Make that 5 or 6. Or 7. I wanna make it longer than I originally intended.
> 
> Rated M for foul, foul language and some sexy stuff later on (not quite enough to call "explicit," but close).

**Mid 2000s, Phase 2.  The Gorillaz have all just been summoned to Kong to begin work on their second album that would become Demon Days.**

They needed new music.  All at Kong, ready to record their next series of hits, all they needed were the hits themselves.  “Just leave it to me,” Murdoc said as soon as the subject was brought to attention, “I’ll write the album myself.”  He said it with a sort of self-righteous heroism, as if he were the band’s savoir, single handedly driving it forward into the next generation.  Then he disappeared into one of the many rooms of Kong, presumably to get to work, though he did have with him more than one man’s share of rum.  Left without a goal, the rest of the band split up to do their own things.  Russel left to get food; Noodle had some stocked but not nearly enough if the four of them were to live there for any respectable duration.

Left with no task, 2D decided to bug Noodle, who was sitting in her room when the others arrived.  He had heard she had to fight off zombies when she returned to Kong.  Zombies were something of a point of interest for the singer, so naturally, he wanted to hear everything she had to say about her experiences, even through her very limited ability to speak English.  Walking through the dirty halls, he grew increasingly excited to see her again.  It had been years, she had gone to Japan and come back and now they were making another album.  He just missed her, he supposed.

Approaching her room, he heard her signature strumming on her acoustic guitar, her favorite one to which she had affixed a few stickers.  He stood outside her door for a moment, not wanting to interrupt the music.  It was new, something he hadn’t heard before, and quite wonderful, even if it was only one chord and a few additional notes in a rather catchy rhythm.  After a while, he heard a frustrated grunt from within, as if she screwed up.  If she did, he couldn't tell.  Regardless, he chose that moment to knock on her door.

“Noodle?  Noodle, you there?”

“Yeah, 2D, come in!”

Odd.  She sounded excited herself.

2D entered the room that made the cultural divide between her and the rest of the band so apparent.  It was like stepping into a little piece of Japan in the middle of Britain.  He turned to find the girl sitting with her guitar at the edge of her bed, across the room.  She looked… different.  She had long bangs that obscured her eyes and she was much taller, though still rather short.  Her entire figure had matured a bit.  This was an odd thing for 2D to behold.  The little girl he knew now amidst her adolescence.  He paused for a moment, just taking it in… he’d be lying if he said she didn't look rather nice.  Despite it all, her smile was familiar, as was her general enthusiasm.  Her familiar, cute, endearing smile, one he couldn't help but return.

“Hello, 2D!  How are you?”

“What, me?  I'm fine, I guess, quite, um… fine.  What was that you were just playing right there?”

“Oh, part of a song I'm writing.”

“You write music?  Well I didn't know that.  Murdoc’s just gone off to write a whole album himself.”

Noodle smirked.  “Well, he’ll be happy to know that I've already written nearly the whole album _my_ self.  I have some demos, but a few songs still need work.”

2D paused for a moment, bewildered.  She had said more to him that he understood in the past ten seconds than the entirety of the time he’d known her prior..

“Noodle?”

“Yes?”

“How d’ya know to talk like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just that you’re talking in English and I can understand you and everything.  Why is that?”

Noodle was a little frustrated with herself before 2D came in, but her spirits were lifted quickly by his presence.  Now he’d take her mood back down, inadvertently bringing up a subject she’d rather avoid for the time being.

“Oh, I learned that I can speak English back in Japan.”

“Don't you mean you learned _to_ speak English?”

“No, I found out that… I already knew how… but I don't wanna talk about that right now.  For now… how about you help me with the music?”

“Erm.. okay, but I might not be the best at that.”

She kept smiling at him, happy to see her friend once again.  “You’ll be fine.  Now… I need to come up for something for the chorus.  I like this that I have come up with already-” she played the same little section with her guitar- “But I don’t have a melody or lyrics.”

“Play it again?”

She did, and this time, 2D simply hummed along with whatever notes came to his head.  It didn’t sound good, nor did either of them expect it to, so they tried again.  And again.  Each time the tune was a bit more refined, better notes kept and sour notes tossed, until 2D had come up with a solid melody.  Then he started to _really_ sing, with words rather than noises.

_“Windmill, windmill for the land,_

_Learn forever hand in hand,_

_Take it all in on your stride,_

_It is stinking, falling down,_

_Love forever love is free,_

_Let's turn forever you and me,_

_Windmill, windmill for the land,_

_Is everybody in?”_

Noodle stopped playing, staring at the blue-haired man in her room.

“What is it, Noodle?”

“2D… that sounds really good.  I… think that’ll work.”

“Alright, well, good.”

She looked up at him with- what was it?  2D couldn’t quite place it, whatever it was.  Gratitude?    
Not quite….  Either way, she was smiling playfully at him, and he once again noticed how her appearance.  She had a tight dark blue shirt and jeans, fairly typical wear for a young girl of her age, though it looked especially good on her for some reason.  Really good.  The way the shirt hugged her slim figure, largely obscured by the guitar that made her so special, complementing the nearly violet color of her hair, her bright green eyes shining through her long bangs… a little blush on her cheek, her smiling, happy lips…

What the hell was he thinking?

“So,” Noodle said, snapping 2D back into reality, “Do you think Murdoc will like it?”

“Wha- oh, yeah.  It’s good, Noods.”

“I hope so.  I wrote him a really catchy bass line, he’ll be excited to play that, I think.”

“Yeah, yeah, good…”

“Um, 2D, is something bothering you?”

“No, no, uh, it’s just, you know, that I’m happy to see you and everything.  That’s all.”

For whatever reason, he was in a hurry to leave, and did so without another word.  Several minutes later he remembered what he had forgotten: to ask Noodle about her encounters with zombies.  No matter.  It could wait.

\--

“Hey Russ?”

“What is it, ‘D?”

“Why don’t you ever let me make dinner?”

“Because, I don’t think I wanna be puttin’ out no fires round here.  Place is shitty enough already.”

The kitchen was dimly lit, as was most every room in Kong, though this time it was because 2D was fighting off a migraine rather than the usual ominous power issues caused by what he  suspected was the supernatural.  Sighing, 2D decided to go off and watch television.  It would distract him from that fact that everyone thought him an idiot.  The man himself couldn’t agree or disagree.  He knew he was a bit slow, but he certainly wouldn’t call himself an idiot.

He plopped himself down on the dirty couch in the living room, leaning against and armrest, and began flipping through channels.  As usual, hundreds of options with nothing to watch.  Defeated by the “goddamn cable company,” he dropped the remote on a table and allowed the loud voices of salespeople regale him with tales of quality products, as the TV was on what appeared to be a 24/7 advertisement channel.  There was something oddly comforting about it, really.  For three easy payments of $19.99.  After a while, some movement caught his eye.  A clearly upset Noodle had entered the room, immediately marching to the couch and settling next to 2D.

“Hey, Noodle, what’s up?” he quickly said, looking down at her.  The moment their eyes met, Noodle’s expression changed dramatically, and she was smiling as she usually did once again.  There was an odd brightness in her eyes, one he did not see when she was a child.  It only seemed to appear recently, only when she was looking at him.  The young girl scooted closer to him, snuggling next to him, resting her head on his chest.  2D reflexively put his arm around her, causing her to snuggle even closer, pressing herself against him.  The room was dark, so she felt safe from his discovering her blushing.

They stayed that way for a while, sitting together, watching advertisements for magical towels and multipurpose cooking knives, until Russel came in with three hot bowls in his hands, eyeing the way the two were sitting together with suspicion.  The two separated, each taking one bowl from Russel until they were all sitting on the couch, side by side, enjoying their dinner- meat soup.  At least, that’s what Russel called it.  All it was was various chucks of beef floating around in watery fat, with a few onions thrown in for good measure.  It was not elegant, classy, or healthy, but damn was it good.

“Little girl,” Russel said, “You still upset with Muds?”

Noodle simply nodded, prompting 2D to lean forward, look at them both and ask, “What happened?”

Noodle, still quiet, allowed Russel to answer.  “She got real mad when she played Muds one of her tunes, calling it ‘Feel Good Inc.’.  Murdoc actually really liked it, that’s not the issue.  Problem came when he tried changing it up and stuff, you know, like adding a rap verse and writing a whole new music video for it, even though Noodle had her own ideas.  She’s sayin that it’s her song and she should have more say in what happens with it, but the asshole just shrugged her off like she wasn’t even there.  Now he’s off, talking to producers and everything, and they’re all thinking that the whole song was his idea… girl’s right to be pissed.”

After that, they ate for a short while in silence, Russel eventually changing the channel to some primetime sitcom.  It was mildly entertaining, but nothing special, certainly nothing they thought they’d watch again.  As more time passed, 2D noticed something.  Noodle seemed to look over at Russel with increasing frequency, with a somewhat annoyed face.  Eventually, he took notice.

“Uh, Noodle?  Something wrong?”

“No, not at all.”

“But that face you keep makin, it feels like you don’t want me here.”

“Well…”

“Noodle… I’m a little hurt.”

“Come on, Russ, it’s nothing personal.”

“Then why do you want me gone?”

“I don’t know.”

Sensing an impending fight, 2D decided to untangle himself from the young girl and make his way to his room, though “fights” between Russel and Noodle were always mild and ended with them hugging it out- quite the opposite of most fights in Kong.  Noodle had sat up to talk to Russel, so all the singer had to do was remove his arm from around her and he’d be free to go.  As he walked away, something within him drove him to take one more look at her- he didn’t quite know what it was.  The glance revealed that she was staring at him as he left, as upset as she was when she first walked in.

Russel’s voice snapped Noodle back to reality.  “Fine, if you want me outta here, I’ll go.”

“What?  No.  Never mind, you don’t need to go now.  Sorry.”

He gave her a confused look before finishing his soup while she started muttering to herself quietly in indecipherable Japanese.

\--

Migraines.  Migraines, oh migraines.  2D sat up in bed, wondering why he was cursed to forever suffer such an awful thing his entire life.  His room was nearly pitch black- the only inkling of light peered at him in the form of a digital clock.  3:48, it read.  It was nearly four in the morning.  Wiping his face with his hands, he decided it would be no use trying to fall back asleep in his current state, fumbling around for his painkillers on his nightstand.  However, in doing so, he accidentally knocked over a glass of water, causing it to go crashing down, shattering on the hard floor.  The sudden loud, high-pitched noise caused 2D to clench his entire body as the throbbing in his head immediately intensified.  He didn’t want to turn the lamp on for fear that the light would make him vomit, so he just continued pawing about until he felt his fingers touch the small bottle… right before he knocked it onto the floor as well.

He was glad no one was there to see him, because he felt pathetic.

Then the door burst open, light from the hallway pouring in and making him want to shrivel up beneath the blankets.  That would be too much movement, so instead he raised his arm up to shield his eyes.

“Toochi, are you okay?  I heard something break...”

He could just make out the wide-awake Noodle’s silhouette with his blurred vision, simultaneously grateful for her arrival and resentful.  Either way, he had to get his pills and make the room dark again as quickly as possible.

“Yeah, I’m fine… thanks for checking up on me.”

“Well I know you weren’t feeling good so I was thinking you might have hurt yourself or something…”

“No, Noods, I’m fine… but could you help me out a minute?”

“Of course!”

“Just… grab me that bottle of pills on the floor?”

It was such a lame, pathetic request.  Most would think it would be easy for 2D to do himself- but migraines such as his were more often than not so very painful that bending over even slightly would trigger unbearable jolts of agony to strike him in his head and neck.  Of course, it didn’t matter, because Noodle happily complied.

As she did so, he couldn’t help but notice how she looked again in the dim light.  Only a teenager, but she looked so beyond her years.  Acted it, too.  Smart, mature… beautiful.  And once again, 2D forced himself to stop thinking about it.  She was not much older than half his age, and she was a part of the band, and… well, she was freakin’ Noodle!  He certainly couldn’t…

All that aside, he did like having her around.  It was almost as if all his problems melted away when she was near.  He never had to worry about getting bored, or putting on a show, or impressing anyone… even the pains caused by Murdoc and migraines were less severe.  It even made performing easier whenever she sang with him- though this didn’t happen very often, especially because she hardly knew English their last round of shows...

“2D?”

“Oh, right… thanks, love.”  He hadn’t realized that she had the bottle in her hand, arm outstretched so he could retrieve it.  Using what little light there was while the door was still open, he counted out the proper number of pills in his hand, then doubled it and swallowed them dry.  Noodle hadn’t left, nor had she lifted a foot, rather she just stood there, watching him as he took the medication.  “Err… Noodle?  Is there something you need?”

She flinched as if snapped out of a trance.  “No, sorry.  Good night, Toochi!”

“Yeah, good night, Noodle.”

She closed the door, leaving 2D alone in the pitch darkness once again.  But now he slept like a baby.

\--

_Russel thought that he had escaped.  He no longer heard gunshots after he had turned the corner, but just to be safe, he peaked around again.  No one was there.  Letting out a sigh, he reloaded his weapon, moving deeper into cover to allow his shields to regenerate.  Everything was going well until he saw the blue ball out of the corner of his eye.  “SHIT!” he screamed, jumping to evade it, but it was far too late.  It stuck to his foot, and a moment later, he erupted in a ball of superheated plasma, leaving only parts of a corpse behind._

“In your face, Russ!”

Russel leaned back in the couch waiting to respawn.  He was a better sport than Murdoc, who would more often than not throw the controller down on the ground upon being beaten by 2D.  Russel never felt too bad about it, 2D was simply the best at most video games among the three, but in the case of Halo, the two were almost evenly matched.

“Man, ‘D, I’m just not on my game today.”

“Murdoc says that too.”

“Nah, for real.  That music is too damn loud!”  He gestured to the ceiling, which was indeed vibrating with some sort of music coming from above.  “It was worse earlier, cause I was in the bathroom, and some shit came off the ceiling and fell right on my head.  I don’t know what the hell is going on up there, but lemme tell ya, I might just wanna cave Murdoc’s skull in when he;s done with it.”

“But what if it’s Noodle?”

“Then I’m still gonna cave Murdoc’s skull in.”

Smirking, 2D paused the game and went up the stairs to investigate the reason for the loudness of the music.  He didn’t know where to start looking, so he just pressed his ear against door after door until he found the right one.  It took him a while- there were lots and lots of empty rooms in Kong- but eventually he came to the last door he’d expect to be problematic: The white one leading to Noodle’s room.

He gave it a knock, and immediately all noise from within came to a stop.  “Who is it?” Noodle’s voice rang through the door.

“It’s me, 2D!”

She opened the door just enough to poke her head through.  “What is it?”

“Me and Russel were wondering about all the noise that’s been coming from your room.”

“Oh, the music?  Sorry, it’s loud.”

“Well, could you put on headphones or something?”

“Uhh… no?”

“Why not?”

“Because… promise you won’t tell Murdoc?”

“I won’t tell Murdoc what?”

She stepped back and let the door swing open.  Her room was normal, save for the green screen (which was used for Shaun Ryder’s head) and dozens cameras complete with crew.  Everyone looked at 2D with confused looks, all except for Noodle, who eyed him worriedly instead.  The man didn’t seem to fully comprehend what was going on.

“Erm… Noodle?  Why are all these cameras and people in here?”

“I’m shooting one of our music videos, _DARE_.”

“ _DARE_?  You’ve never showed me that one…”

“I didn’t show anyone, 2D.  I was so fed up with Murdoc changing my music to his liking, so I thought I’d do this one all by myself.”

“Oh.  Well…”

“Well what?”

“Don’t you need vocals?”

“I’m the one singing it.”

“...supporting vocals?”

She smiled at him.  He sounded almost like a child right then, asking for candy.  How could she say no to his goofy face?  She pulled him into the room by his collar, shutting the door behind him.  “We’ve already gotten really far in the video, so you’re probably not gonna be in it… but why don’t you sit behind the cameras listening and come up with something to sing?  We can record it and layer it over the audio we already have later.”

“Okay, sounds good, sounds good…”

So he did.  He sat cross legged on the floor (Noodle didn’t have any chairs) out of view of all the cameras, listening to her sing, watching her dance.  It was a treat he rarely got, as she hardly provided vocal work and never really danced.  But watching her now, she seemed very, very good at it.  Her movements were quick and enthusiastic, but smooth and relaxed at the same time.  He couldn’t help but smile at her whenever they made eye contact.  He got so caught up in just enjoying the production that he almost forgot he was supposed to be coming up with lines for himself.  In the end, all he thought would fit were “Ooh”s and “Ahh”s above her melody, but when they later put it in the track, it sounded quite nice.

Noodle had wanted to keep the video her own secret, but didn’t mind sharing it with 2D.  She’d be reluctant with perhaps even Russel.  She recognized from an early age that her bond with 2D was special- a “zen bond” as she put it at the time- but what exactly that meant, she was not sure.

\--

Trouble in the kitchen.

“WHAT THE HELL?”

“Murdoc, please-”

“A MUSIC VIDEO IS RELEASED BY MY BAND AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW IT?  WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?”

“It’s your own fault-”

“MY FAULT?  MY FAULT YOU WENT BEHIND MY BACK TO DO THIS SHIT?  NO!  THIS IS MY BAND, YOU JAP BITCH, NOT YOURS!  NOW I DON’T KNOW HOW, BUT YOU ARE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!”

“Hey!”  2D stepped between the two.  “You can’t talk to her like that!”

“Oh, I can’t?”  Murdoc shifted himself so he could look directly at Noodle again.  “Look, love, your reinforcements have arrived in the form of the stupidest git in England!”

“Stupidest- Murdoc, I know I’m not really the smartest guy ever, but I’m not an idiot!”

“Oh, of course you are.  Why else would you be taking the side of a teenager who can’t keep her priorities in line?”

“She’s right, Murdoc, it’s her song!  She wrote it and she should be able to decide how the video goes!”

“Oh, bullshit.  This is a group effort, dullard.  We all get a say-”

“Then let her have one!  You know, Murdoc, when I met you, you were my hero.  I thought you saved my life.  But now… you’re just a right asshole, aren’t you?  And you don’t even deserve to hear her music and change it to your liking.”

“I don’t deserve to hear her music?”

“Yeah!”

“Is that right?”

“...yeah.”

Noodle saw it coming, and attempted to pull 2D away, but she wasn’t fast enough.  The singer got a greenish fist put through his face in an instant, knocking him to the ground and eliciting a gasp from the young guitarist.  She kneeled over his unconscious body, gauging the damage to his face, while Murdoc simply laughed a bit and left the room.

\--

“Gnh… what’s goin on?”

2D awoke on the couch, his entire head in agony, a warm liquid running down his face.

“No, 2D,” said a soft voice above him, “Don’t get up…”  She pulled out a cloth of sorts and began wiping blood from his face.

“What happened?” he asked.

Russel gave him his answer.  “What happened was you stood up to Muds for once and he broke your nose.  But that was real cool of you, ‘D.  Real cool.”

“Oh, right… hey am I really an idiot?”

Noodle didn’t answer, instead just smiling a bit.  “Hey,” she said, pulling 2D into a hug that he hesitated to return, “Thanks, Toochi.”

“Wha- yeah, no problem, Noods.”  He blushed a bit, though he didn’t know why.

“Hey, heal up soon, because we need to start recording another piece at some point.”

“Alright, what song is next?”

 

“El Manana.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After El Manana, 2D finds himself in a life he'd rather not live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make 2D's pain clear without being overly dramatic or taking too much time; I wanna get back to the Noodle stuff ASAP. So one whole chapter, devoted entirely to the experiences of the man between El Manana and Noodle's return years later.

**Late 2000s, pre-Phase 3.  Noodle is supposed dead after El Manana, and 2D is hiding out in his Beirut apartment.**

He stood, staring out the window.  Out at the street.  A cigarette burned down to the filter hung loosely from his lips.  The daylight was quite bright and lively, yet it seemed not to pay him a visit.  The outside was pleasantly lit, but on his side of the glass, it was dark and dirty.  Everything was coated in cigarette ash, clothes were strewn about, everything was gray.  Or at least, that’s what he saw.  After some time, all color seemed to have been removed from his vision, left only with gray.

It had been years since the incident- El Manana.  He liked the song, enjoyed recording it, thought it turned out well.  The others were happy with it too, Noodle especially- though she did have minor complaints about the performances of Murdoc and Russel, she made sure to tell 2D she thought his vocal work was wonderful.  And it was.  He was rather proud.

But that was then.  Now he spent his days smoking, staring, letting his mind and body waste away.  There was never a moment when he wasn’t under the effects of powerful painkillers, never a moment when he didn’t have a bottle nearby….  Most days, he didn’t bathe.  Most days, he didn’t eat.  He couldn’t remember the last time he sat down to watch a zombie movie or play a game or even go outside.  He had a phone and status and money, when he needed something he simply had it brought to his door.

Occasionally the phone would ring, once, maybe twice per week, but he’d always ignore it.  He wouldn’t even look at the caller.  It didn’t matter who it was.  Nothing mattered any more.  All he had to do was sit around, passing time, waiting for death to take him.  Whether it be a day or a year or fifty, he didn’t care.  Not after the incident.

He thought about it an awful lot.  Watching it all happen.  He immediately panicked when he saw the helicopters arrive, even though he knew they were supposed to be there.  Murdoc kept insisting she was perfectly safe.  He had outlined the whole situation to the entire band: Noodle would go up on the floating island, where Jimmy Manson, an enemy of the band, would be trapped.  Manson would be tricked into thinking he’d be able to kill Noodle there and take her place as guitarist, but he would, in reality, be locked up.  Then, for the sake of the video, helicopters would pursue the island, shooting rubber bullets at it to give the appearance of taking it down.  The island would fall, killing Manson, but Noodle would safely parachute off and take a break in the Maldives.

Well, at least they killed Manson.

2D kept bugging Murdoc as he watched the whole thing happen.  He kept asking whether each little movement was supposed to be happening, and Murdoc replied, often without looking, “Yes.”  That is, of course, until he looked up to see that the helicopters were using real bullets.  At that point, Murdoc’s mouth dropped, for he knew something was very, very wrong.  He and 2D scrambled with phones and whatnot trying to call it off, but got nowhere, and could do nothing but watch as the island caught fire and fell far sooner and far faster than it was intended to.  2D’s heart broke when the island fell into a crevasse of jagged rock.  Then came the bomb.

No one saw her parachute off.  No cameras caught it, either.  No one could make radio contact with her.  No one could find her wandering from the crash site.  Noodle was dead.

2D didn’t cry.  He didn’t say anything.  He stood completely still, watching the crash site in silence for several minutes.  After a while, Murdoc spoke, though 2D couldn’t for the life of him remember what he said.  He just remembered that the man sounded mildly annoyed at the event, nothing more.  Murdoc tried to keep 2D from leaving, but leave he did.  Still not saying anything, he just walked away.  Walked away from Murdoc and Kong, walked away from Russel (who would leave soon after), walked away from Gorillaz.  He found a cab and took it to the airport.  He bought a random plane ticket and found himself in Beirut, where he’d live off his Demon Days money for the next… well….

It wasn’t long before madness began to take him, his stubborn brain refusing to believe his little Noodle was gone.  He returned to the crash site, dug through rot and rubble, and found nothing.  Dug up graves, found nothing.  Travelled the world, returning to Kong, going to Japan and the Maldives and… nothing.  She was nowhere.  She was dead.  It was then he at last began to cry- on a commercial jet from somewhere in the States back to Beirut.  He received glances, some dirty, others concerned and comforting, but he didn’t notice a single one of them, for he had his face in his hands sobbing until he fell asleep.  That was when he truly began his new life.

That is, if one could call it a life.  Staring and smoking, day after day, sleeping sometimes, eating on occasion, constantly under the effects of painkillers.  The pills could keep away the migraines, but not the pain of watching his best friend die.  The most special person in his life.  All because of that stupid band.  All because of stupid Murdoc.

Looking back, he found it affected him far more than he thought it should.

Staring and smoking, smoking and staring.  His cigarette was down to the filter, and he decided it was time for another.  He had one left.  Before he smoked it, he thought it would probably be best to have his friend get him another pack.  Yes, 2D had one friend, a fan who was willing to run little errands for him.  He lived nearby, and seemed perhaps _ too _ willing to supply 2D with everything he needed.  2D paid, this fan was essentially just a car and a pair of legs.  He’d told 2D what his name was, but 2D never paid any attention.

So instead of picking up the near-empty carton on a nearby table, he picked up the phone sitting next to it.  Just as he was about to type in the number for his fan, it started to ring and vibrate.  This was not the first time he’d received a phone call, but it was the first time he looked at the caller id, simply because it took over the screen.

Murdoc.

Murdoc was calling him.

2D denied the call, and typed in half his desired number before the phone rang again, and once more, it was Murdoc.  So 2D denied it again, and Murdoc called again.  And again and again until 2D got the message.  The madman would not let him go.  Regretting the action before it was performed, 2D finally spoke to the man he hoped he’d never see again.

“What is it, Murdoc?”

“2D!  My friend!  It has been far too long, don’t you think?”

“What do you want.”

“Now, I’m going to tell you something, and I do not want you to hang up, okay?  Listen to what I am about to say, and don’t hang up.  Got it?  Don’t-”

“Damnit, Murdoc, what is it?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to come back.”

“What?”

“Come back to Gorillaz!  Just you and me!  We don’t need that Russel character, we have everything we need between the two of us!  My incredible songwriting talent and your golden vocal cords will get us-”

“Murdoc, I’m not coming back”

“Oh no, of course you’re not.  Still heartbroken over that little girl, are you?  What was her name… dumpling?  Rice?”

“Piss off.”

“No, I don’t think that was it.  Say, instead of hiding out in Beirut and living in your own filth and sorrow, why don’t you come with me, huh?  Fill that empty noggin of yours with a whole new set of memories?”

“...”

“Look, Two-Dents, I miss her too.”

“Really?”

“She was my secret weapon, you know?  She was good at everything!  Reliable on the guitar, helpful with the writing… she and I had our differences, but she was an important part of the band.  But Gorillaz doesn’t need to die with her.  Come back, 2D, come back to Murdoc!  I assure you, it is the right decision!”

“I’m not coming back and that’s final.”

Then 2D hung up the phone, slamming it on the table beside him.

\--

“I’m not coming back and that’s final.”

Then Murdoc heard the beep of a call ended.  “Ugh,” he said to himself, resting his face in his hands.  “I really didn’t want to have to do this to the boy.”  He then brought his phone back up to his face, this time calling someone else.

\--

2D was standing, smoking as always, trying to keep his mind off the conversation he just had with Murdoc.  He was surprised Murdoc hadn’t called again.  It wasn’t like him to give up so easily.  Then again, it was possible that he was planning on pulling some sort of horrible stunt.

A strange haze began to fill the room.  2D just ignored it, not really caring if it was dangerous, not really caring if it would kill him.  He just stood and smoked and smoked and stood, and as he did so, he inhaled the gas.  His vision blurred.  He began to feel woozy.  His eyelids began to droop, his stance began to weaken… until he finally fell unconscious.

\--

2D woke up  _ literally _ stuffed in a suitcase.  It was cramped, uncomfortable, hot and smelly, and he pushed with all his might to break through the zipper and escape.  He pushed and pushed and pushed, the suitcase not even budging for the longest time.  Deep breath.  One more mighty shove, and it was open, the man springing out and onto the soft, mushy pink ground.  Very, very peculiar.  He felt a breeze, smelled the ocean (and a whole lot more).  It took a minute to get up, but when he did, he saw a rather nice looking mansion built atop what he now thought was an island made of trash.  An island he was stuck on.

“So, 2D, what do you think?”  Murdoc’s voice came from behind him.  2D was not surprised.

“I think it’s rubbish, if you ask me.”

“Wha- rubbish?  Do you know how much money I poured into this shithole?”

“Well… no.”

“Hmph.  You probably couldn’t understand it with that tiny little brain of yours.”

They stood on the shore of Plastic Beach, looking up at the studio above them.  Though 2D would never admit it, something about it was rather elegant- or would be, if it weren’t for the fact that it was built on garbage.  Literal garbage, collected in the middle of the ocean, that is.  A shiny coat of paint over it all couldn’t mask the scent of decades of rot, one that permeated the entire building.  The place was surrounded by miles of polluted, oily waters and seemingly endless overcast skies, though it never seemed to rain.  Still, there was something oddly serene about it.  No boats, no wildlife, small waves, nothing in any direction as far as the eye could see.  One might call it beautiful if it were anyplace else.

“Well, come on then, lots of work to do if we’re gonna release a smashing new album, ain’t that right?”

“Murdoc, I don’t wanna do this.”

“Oh, come on, 2D, it’s Gorillaz!  I even made you a room in the basement, like you used to have at Kong, remember?  Those were the good ol’ days, weren’t they, my chum?  My friend?”

2D simply glared, vacantly, but still angrily.

“Right then, tosspot… you’re going to sing whether you like it or not.”  Murdoc placed his hand on 2D’s back and gave him a mighty shove, nearly toppling the tall man and causing him to stumble forward, barely catching himself.  What could he do but comply with the madman’s desires?  He lingered forward, taking his sweet time, approaching the entrance to the building, Murdoc close behind him.  It wasn’t long before Murdoc lost his patience.  “We haven’t got all bloody day, faceache, what the hell are you waiting for?  Move!”  So 2D picked up the pace, a little at first, but soon succumbed to his fear of being smacked or something and sped into a near-jog.

The studio’s innards were no more appealing than its exterior- if anything, a bit more discomforting.  Light seemed to be a scarce resource.  2D was shown to his “room” in what seemed to be a hurry, though why, he wasn’t sure.  His room.  Murdoc stressed that.  “Room.”  Perhaps Murdoc hoped that he could indeed convince 2D that it  _ was _ a room, rather than the inhospitable pit it was, unworthy of such endearing terms as “room,” “home,” or even “cell.”  Regardless, this is where 2D would stay, a dark basement with rusty pipes and trash everywhere, an old, dirty mattress and a single dim bulb threatening to go out at any moment.  Everything was reddish-gray, save for the dark greenish-blackish-blue of the ocean through the small port window.  Oh well, at least he had something of a view.

Another color caught his eye.  A red satchel sat in the corner of the room, rather full with papers and whatnot.  Murdoc gave 2D instructions before dumping him in this prison of a room, and those instructions were to take half-finished musical ideas of Murdoc’s and complete and refine them.  2D was told he’d have everything he’d need, all in the satchel.  Opening it up, the singer found the opposite to be true: a dull pencil, a single blank piece of crumpled up paper, and a Fisher-Price xylophone were his songwriting tools.  The bag had lots more paper, but it was all written on.  Half-completed songs, both notes and lyrics, with various feels meant for various collaborators.  Looking through it all, he found it difficult to read Murdoc’s… unique penmanship.  He was about to go up and complain until he flipped one more paper.  This one was different.  As he hummed it, he found the song had a different feel than the others, ethereal and almost romantic.  Beautiful, even.  Murdoc’s scrawl was notably absent, in its place the half-completed lyrics were written in a rounder, friendlier, more effeminate style.  If he didn’t know any better, he’d say it was written by-

“MURDOC!  MURDOC WHERE’D YOU GET THIS?”

No response.  2D wasn’t sure whether he was being ignored or Murdoc simply couldn’t hear him.  He decided that it wasn’t worth risking his neck to find out how the madman got his hands on Noodle’s old work.  Probably found it all rummaging through what remained of her belongings all those years ago.  If he was really curious, he could just ask when Murdoc came down to bring him food.  He… would bring food, right?  Eventually?

The singer couldn’t think straight.  It had been far too long since he’d had an ounce of liquor, a puff of a cigarette, or even a bite to eat.  Without access to his pills his migraine became debilitating.  He had to find some way to distract from the pain.  He wanted to look more closely at what Noodle had written, but he knew that would only introduce a far greater pain.  He would never forget, but he could always try…

After a minute, he resolved to just stare out the window.  It was the ocean, after all.  Always had something of a calming effect, even if he couldn’t count the number of individual pieces of trash floating about.  Calm… calm….  This worked for a while.  He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to convince himself that it’d all be over soon.  He’d sing a bit, then he’d go home, and never have to see Murdoc ever again.  Yeah.  Think happy thoughts, 2D, happy thoughts.  He had newfound contentedness with his situation, fooling himself into thinking this whole ordeal would be quick and easy.  Then he could live a normal life.

Then he opened his eyes.  Before him was the eye of a massive whale, nearly filling the frame of the window.  It had appeared out of nowhere, without noise, without jostling the island.  He yelped and jumped back, cowering as far from the window as he could.  That thing could tear the island apart if it wanted to, and 2D, being in the basement, would surely drown almost immediately.  Wonderful.  Trapped down in this hellhole with that whale…

He looked back at the satchel.  If he was going to spend a lot of time down there, working, even, eventually he’d have to.  And maybe he wouldn’t be filled with grief as he expected, maybe it’d make him happy.  Maybe both.  But he decided there was no point in delaying, he’d have to read Noodle’s music.  Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he had no idea.  Slowly, almost reluctantly, he pulled it out of the bag, played the music in his head, and sang along to what was there.  Only one verse had lyrics, but a melody was written for nearly the whole thing.

_ You can’t get what you want, _

_ But you can get me. _

_ So let’s set out to sea, love. _

_ ‘Cause you are my medicine _

_ When you’re close to me _

And that’s when it hit him.  All at once.  He dropped the papers and put his head in his hands, doing his damnedest to hold back tears, and failing.  It was beautiful.  The music was beautiful, the words were beautiful… and so very appropriate.  He should have done that.  He should have run away with her before she died.

Run away with her?  Why would he do that?  The answer was obvious: he loved her.  She’d always been like a little sister to him, one who was constantly kind and caring and full of energy… one who would always look after him and… curl up in his arms whenever there was a thunderstorm.  He wished she’d do that now.  Curl up in his arms.  He’d hold her and protect her, keep her from her fears knowing she would do the same for him.  Her mere presence seemed to chase his demons away.

He did not want to be found in his current state, balled up in a fetal position in a corner.  He thought Murdoc would never come to visit except to pull him up to record music.  This would prove to be wrong, for Murdoc rather soon after 2D had his little breakdown did appear in the doorway to the lift that connected 2D’s room to the rest of the building.

“Hey princess, get up.  There’s someone I want you to meet.”

\--

Murdoc had taken him to another small, dark room, gesturing to a thing- it looked like a body with a metal face- slouched over by a wall, connected to cables with jolts of electricity shooting through them.  2D was hesitant to approach it, though that is clearly what Murdoc wanted him to do, as the bassist had stepped aside, gesturing to the creation.  Seeing that the singer refused to move, Murdoc rolled his eyes, walked up to the… thing, and manipulated it, appearing to hit hidden buttons throughout.  2D gasped as it sprung to life, a more realistic and human face sliding over the metallic one, the entire body disconnecting from its tubes and coming to attention.  It was clearly a robot, but that wasn’t what shocked the man.  The robot looked incredibly realistic, exactly like a human being.  A thin, short human being with short-ish violet hair, green eyes, and the beginnings of a womanly figure.  This android looked exactly like his memory of Noodle.

2D was conflicted.  Part of him went mad with desire, wishing to thrust himself forward and take Noodle in his arms, hugging her as tightly as he could, never letting go.  But another part of him kept reminding that  _ this was not Noodle _ .  This was a robotic fake.  Cold, emotionless, expressionless… but it looked just like her.  And it was disturbing on a very deep level.

“Murdoc… what the fuck did you do?”

“Well, we needed a guitarist, and seeing as I couldn’t find the  _ real _ Noodle, I built myself a Noodle.  Went to the crash site, scrounged up some blood I found, and used the DNA to create this here cyborg.  Lucky that blood turned out to be Noodle’s, right?”  He chuckled to himself a moment, admiring his handiwork.

“You…  _ built _ a Cyborg Noodle?”

“Yeah.  What’s the problem?”

“You BUILT a  _ Cyborg _ Noodle?”

“2D, what are you getting at?”

“How could you just do that?”

“What?”

“How could you just replace her?  Especially with a bloody robot?”

“I couldn’t find her, so I replaced her with another her, what’s the big deal?”

2D balled his hands into fists, taking a step back, away from Murdoc and his despicable creation.  “I never want to see that thing again.”

“Come on, 2D!  It’s as close as you can get to-”

“No.  Just shut up.  You…  _ you… _ just fuck off, you mangy git.”

Murdoc stared for a moment, speechless.  He’d been called much, much worse before- but never by 2D.  He didn’t think 2D dared.  It took a moment, but Murdoc found words and spit them out violently.  “Now listen here, faceache, you best not be saying that kind of thing again, or you’re gonna find your throat a kilometer away from the rest of you, understand?”

2D sighed at the empty threat, knowing that Murdoc  _ would _ beat him, but wouldn’t dare damage him in any way that would affect his vocals.  That meant he would keep breathing, at least.  Not knowing where else to go, he found himself in the lift, headed back to his room, immediately drawing the shades hoping to block the whale from his view.  Outta sight, outta mind.  He curled up on his bed, trying to push back tears once more, eventually finding solace in sleep.

\--

Morning brought with it the horror of an encounter with the Cyborg.  Murdoc had sent it down with 2D’s food, an assortment of breakfast items hastily thrown onto a plate.  Interestingly, it looked like he’d at least  _ tried _ , but 2D knew that the man was no Russel in the kitchen.  He focused on the food as he took it from the Cyborg’s hands, doing his best not to look at its face.  It was hard, for even in artificial form, Noodle was much shorter than 2D.  He had to look down to target his meal, the face easily but accidentally caught in his field of view.  Block it, 2D.  Block the emotions from your mind.  He ate, surprised by the quality of the meal, though again, it was nothing compared to what Russel would make.  He finished eating with a weight in his stomach, wishing he had something to distract himself from the pain, both physical and metal.  He took his pills as he always did, but needed more.  Something caught his eye.  The satchel.

\--

And that’s how life progressed for a long time.  He didn’t know how long- at least a year, he’d imagine.  Every morning he’d find food waiting for him, held up by the Cyborg, which he became better and better at ignoring with each passing day.  He’d then sit down and work on music, finishing up the half-completed songs of both Murdoc and Noodle, adding one or two of his own every now and again.  As time went on, Murdoc realized that 2D would work better with more equipment, so 2D eventually had keyboards and guitars in his room, making it feel a little more…  _ his _ .  Still far from comfortable.  He’d be called up every so often to speak to Murdoc about whatever, or to record a song with whichever collaborators had been most recently kidnapped.  He never left the room unless he was told, believing it to be something of an unspoken rule.  The Cyborg was always around anyway… he didn’t want to see it any more than he had to.

Then the bombings started, and 2D started fearing for his life again.  Pirates attacked for who knows why, bombing the island for hours, shooting at it.  2D was safe from nearly all but the whale in his underwater room, so it was there he cowered during these attacks.

It all got to him, his lifestyle.  It was beginning to drive him insane.  He wished with all his heart that something,  _ anything _ would change, even accepting death as an alternative to his unbearable routine, never finding the willpower to take his own life.  But he needed this life to end, and he needed it badly.

\--

The largest attack so far was the most traumatizing for 2D by far.  The whale finally decided that he  _ was _ worth killing after all, and surely he’d be dead if that giant hadn’t appeared out of nowhere and saved him.  Come to think of it… that giant looked a bit like Russel.  But Russel wasn’t a giant, right?

The sounds of battle shook 2D’s mind for what felt like days.  Trapped down there with no escape, no method of defense, in an island that shook every five seconds and constantly threatened to collapse, it took everything in him not to have a breakdown.  He didn’t cry, he didn’t scream.  He sat in a corner with his hands over his ears and his face buried in his knees, trying to block everything out, quite unsuccessfully.  The fighting refused to end, and 2D wondered if it ever would.  It took time, but he eventually closed his eyes, resolved to his death as a prisoner in this hell in the middle of the Pacific...

Then it stopped.  The world suddenly fell silent.  He worried that it was only a calm before a larger storm.  In a sense, he was right.  He heard the mechanical sounds of the elevator in use- surely Murdoc was returning to his loft near the top of the building, if he was still alive, of course.  2D was surprised to find the door open on his floor, Murdoc within with the remains of a now dead cyborg in his hands.  At least it looked dead.  It made no sounds or movements, was missing two limbs, and had several new bullet holes riddled across its body.  When Murdoc finally spoke, he did so with uncharacteristic seriousness and care, not even insulting the singer once.

“Oi, 2D, get up there.  There’s… someone you're gonna wanna talk to.”

\--

_ They sat on a beach, looking up at the stars.  Russel and Murdoc had stayed in that night, Russel because he was ill and Murdoc because he was still hungover from the night before.  It didn’t matter to 2D, of course.  He liked it best when it was just him and his Noodle. _

_ “See those, Noodle?” he said, pointing up at the sky and turning his head to the young girl.  “Those are stars!” _

_ “Ss… stah… starhu?” _

_ He smirked.  The kid was still getting a grip on English, but he found it adorable.  He grabbed her and pulled her into his side, rustling her hair as much as he could, eliciting a soft giggle from the child.  They sat that way for a good while, admiring the universe.  He hugged her closer when she began to shiver, but she pulled away, shaking her head. _

_ “2D-kun…” _

_ “What is it, lil’ love?” _

_ She pointed back at the hotel they were staying at.  “You want to go inside?” he asked, pointing as well, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.  She nodded, convinced they understood each other.  In an instant, he scooped her up and plopped her on his back, giving her a piggyback ride all the way through the doors of the hotel.  They weren’t even to their rooms when he heard her snoring.  It was such a peaceful, sweet sound… he couldn’t help but smile to himself. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. More chapters soon- not sure, but I think I'll make this longer than I originally intended.  
> Sorry I didn't update for like nine days, but my laptop was out of commission for a while. I got it working again, so it's all good now.  
> Hate to be that guy, but... there is a 'kudos' button and comments section down there. Oh, but be brutal in the comments. If you have problems with any of this, don't hold back; I want to improve as much as possible (don't leave ship hate or anything, of course. That's no fun).  
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	3. Chapter 3

The aftermath of battle was obvious.  Bulletholes in the mansion, craters in the ground, smoke drifting about….  Observing all the damage to the island, 2D wondered how it could possibly still be afloat.  Entire chunks of it were floating in the ocean, mingling with other trash and parts of downed fighter jets.  Looking around, though, he was happy to find there were no bodies they’d have to dispose of.  They had all ended up in the water, in all likelihood.  Even among the living, 2D was alone on the beach, as Murdoc and the collaborators who had been present had all gone inside.  He wondered if Murdoc had finally gone insane… there was no one to talk to.

He was about to turn around and head back in when he caught something unusual in the corner of his eye.  Focusing on it, it turned out there _was_ someone there… someone new.  A woman sat by the water, her legs dangling over, holding herself with perfect posture with her hands politely folded in her lap.  She had messy, short, purple-blue hair, wore a white dress, and had her face obscured by a feline mask.

2D was supposed to talk to this person, right?  That’s what Murdoc said to do….  So he approached the woman slowly from behind, stopping when he thought she could hear him normally without him having to shout.

“Um… miss?”

The woman gasped, visibly flinching a bit when he addressed her.  She scrambled to her feet, turning around to find 2D staring at her, obviously trying to determine her significance.

“Can I help you?” he said.

The woman looked at the ground, folding her hands in front of her.  “Do you not remember me, Stuart?”

The man scratched his head.  “I don’t think so… you do have a mask on.”

She looked up quickly, realizing that he couldn’t see her face.  She simply had forgotten she was wearing it.  Her hands gripped the chin of the mask, then, with a moment’s hesitation, pulled it off of her face before falling to her sides.

2D gazed upon her for a moment, processing what he saw.  His reaction was slow, his mind refusing to put the pieces together.  But together they came, and 2D’s hand flew to his mouth and he took a step backward.

“No… not, you’re not…”

“2D?  Are you okay?”

“You’re just another bloody android, aren’t you?”  She had many severe cuts and bruises about her face, eliminating the possibility that this was a fake, but he couldn’t let himself believe the possibility that remained.

“Android?  No, 2D… it’s me! Do you really not… do you not remember me?”  There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but hopefulness as well.  She took a step toward him, and 2D took another step back.  “2D… it’s me.  Really.”

“No you’re not.  Noodle’s dead.”

Her face fell upon hearing that.  Sure, she knew they might think that… but when he really said it, it hit her hard.  “2D… I’m here.  I’m alive.”

2D shook his head violently, trying to hold back tears.  The woman had had enough.  Without really realizing and before 2D could react, she sprinted forward and wrapped herself around the singer, holding him as tightly as her fatigued arms would allow.  She buried her face in his chest, quiet tears dampening his shirt.  2D was a little irritated at first, but then he felt it.  The way she held him, the way she seemed to fit into him… the heartbeat pressed against his stomach.  It was her.  It was his Noodle.

“You’re alive…?”

She nodded against him.

“You’re alive!”  He hugged her back, tightly, nearly lifting her into the air.  One arm about her torso, one arm holding her head to his chest, his hand running through her hair.  It really was her.  Noodle was alive, and she was in his arms at long last.  Years of pain and suffering finally over.  Now that Noodle was here, everything was alright.  Now that Noodle was here, everything was fixed… right?

A small realization hit him, and his face became one of concern.  “Wait a minute…”  He held her out at arm’s length so he could look at her face again.  Seeing it, knowing that it _really was_ the real, living Noodle, nearly made his heart stop.  On one hand, it was simply the face of his beloved Noodle, but on the other, that beloved face was marred by injuries, turning nearly half her skin from its normal light-olive color to various shades of blue and red.  She had a bump on her forehead, barely visible now that 2D’s ruffling had made her hair partly obscure her eyes.  Eyes.  Her right eye was horrible… swollen and every color it shouldn’t be.

“Noodle… you’re hurt.”

She sighed.  “Yeah, I am…”  She went to put the mask back on her face, but he grabbed her wrist.

“No, don’t put that on… are you alright?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to go inside?  We have first aid and-”

“2D!  I’m… I’m okay.  Thanks, though.”

He pulled her back into him, both threatening to leak tears once more, but managing to keep them at bay.  After a while, they released each other, 2D offering her a friendly smile.  He felt as though he might break down on the spot when she smiled back.  That smile… he longed to see it again for so many years.  It brought to mind all their shared memories, laughing together, playing together, all the wonderful times he had seen that smile, all the times that smile had shined upon him to cast away his fears and stress and make the world into a tolerable place.

“Oh, um… 2D, wait here a second.”

She turned around, running back to the water, cupping her hands around her mouth to shout.  “RUSSEL!”

2D’s mouth and eyes opened equally wide, at first in fear, then only in bewilderment.  A ways off the beach, a massive brown… _thing_ began to rise out of the water.  It came up slowly, a bald dome at first, soon revealing a face with white eyes.  The giant spoke.  “What is it, baby girl?”  Noodle waved him over, and he came to rest with his hands on the beach.  2D approached slowly.  “Russ?”

“‘D!  How you been, man?  I’d hug ya but… don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Russ, you got… big.”

“Yeah, there’s something in the water, I think.  Absorbed some… radioactive shit or something on my way over.”  
  
“Radioactive?  Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I’m not the one who’s been living on an island with Murdoc.”

He chuckled at his own joke, but only briefly, for he accidentally reminded himself why he came to Plastic Beach in the first place.  “Hey ‘D…”  His tone carried a hint of aggression diluted by sorrow.

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you just replace us?”

“What?”

“I’m just minding my own business one day and I hear a new Gorillaz album is in production without me and Noodle.  So… what’s the deal?  I mean… how could you do that?”

“ _I_ didn’t.  Murdoc did.  I don’t even wanna be on this sodding pile of trash…”

“Than why are you staying here?”

“I don’t have much of a choice.  I was just minding my own business one day too, then Murdoc decides to kidnap me and hold me prisoner here!”

“Wait,” Noodle interrupted, grabbing 2D’s shoulder and turning him toward her.  “Murdoc _kidnapped_ you?  And he’s _holding you prisoner?”_

“Well… yes?”

She let go of him, marching off to the entrance of the mansion.  2D took off after her.  “Wait, Noodle, what are you doing?”

“Has Murdoc been torturing you, too?”

“What?”

“He used to beat you all the time, Stuart.  Now that Russel and I have been gone, I can only imagine what he’s done…”

“Well… he has, yeah.  He still hits me and stuff, but it’s not that much worse than when you guys were around.”  It was the truth, but he only mentioned the physical torture, not the psychological torture of the presence of the Cyborg and the whale and what was essentially solitary confinement.  Noodle’s face was red and angry as it was; he didn’t want it getting worse.

She marched off toward the entrance again, muttering under her breath in Japanese.  2D did not give up his pursuit.  “Noodle, wait… what are you saying?  What are you-”

“I swear I’m gonna kill him.  I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

That froze the singer in his tracks, unable to move or speak.  He knew what Noodle was, what she was capable of.  Come to think of it, she was probably the reason the pirate invasion had been staved off.  And now she wanted to kill Murdoc….  2D stood there, conflicted.  He simply couldn’t decide whether he really, truly wanted Murdoc dead or not.  Hurt, maybe.  But dead…?

“Hey Russel?”

“What’s up, ‘D”

“Shouldn’t we stop her?”

“I dunno, man.  I’m pretty pissed off myself, and honestly, I don’t know if I could stop myself from killing him if I saw him.  He better be damn glad he’s inside… Noodle has more self control than I do.”

“But… Murdoc’s done bad things, but should he _die?_ ”

“‘D, listen to me.  He single-handedly ruined your life and Noodle’s.  He’s actually hurt me the least, and I still wanna kill him for how he’s hurt me.  What he’s done to you and Noods… I don’t think I can forgive him.”

\--

Murdoc was in the middle of packing when he heard the lift open nearby.  He looked over to it, to find a seething Noodle approaching.  It was the first time he saw the injuries to her face, causing him to grimace a little as she came into focus.  He failed to react when she suddenly knocked him down and pinned him to the floor.  Of course, Murdoc being Murdoc, proper behavior, including self-defence, had to take a backseat to sarcasm.

“Skipping the foreplay, are we, love?”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, you’re talking to me now?  Not just telling me to fetch the dullard and otherwise keeping your mouth shut?”

“I said shut up!”

“You know, you still owe me a robot after what you did to my last-”

He finally stopped talking when she brought her hand across his face, leaving a red mark and a stunned expression.  Noodle brought her face to within an inch of his, and began yelling at him.  Perhaps not yelling, for it was quiet, but it was intense and angry and aggressive.

“You… you!  You nearly got me killed, you know.  See this?”  She gestured to her facial scars.  “This is _your_ fault.  It is _your_ fault that I had to go into hiding, your fault I had to leave 2D and Russel… and you just replace me with a _fucking robot?_  One that looks like me!  Do you know just how messed up that is?  But I could live with all that, Murdoc.  I don’t care if I get hurt.  But to arrive and find out that you _kidnapped_ 2D and forced him to work for you?  That was the _last fucking straw_.  You have no right to treat him like that, and you can’t do it anymore, understand?  You can’t hurt anyone else because I am-”

“Gonna kill me?”

Noodle’s face softened a bit upon actually hearing it said to her.  Was she really going to kill him?  She drew herself away a bit, still keeping him on the ground.  Sensing that Noodle had calmed down a bit, Murdoc decided it was safe to continue talking.

“Look, love.  I’m sorry.  I know coming from me that doesn’t mean much, but… I mean it.  Truth is, I missed you.  I missed having Gorillaz.  So I tried to bring it back, even if it meant 2D had to sing against his will and I had to make another you.  I figured Russ would go bananas if he saw the cyborg, and I didn’t want him to break my neck, so I left him out.  But, Noodle… I am sorry.  Sorry for what happened to you and to faceache.  And… it’s nice to see you again.”

Noodle’s mouth hung open, not knowing how to respond.  He kept a straight face, but she could tell he was being genuine- it came through in his voice.  She didn’t notice that she had teared up a little until she saw a droplet fall on Murdoc’s cheek.  It didn’t help that he almost immediately pulled her down into a hug.  She didn’t return it.  But after a moment, he released her and they both got to their feet, Noodle finding her composure almost immediately.

“Okay, Murdoc… I believe you.  But that doesn’t make your actions okay.  If you do something like this again, I _will_ kill you, and this time I won’t give you the benefit of the doubt, understand?”

He simply smirked to himself.  “You’ve changed, Noodle.  I don’t think you’d be making death threats when you were a kid.”

She looked away from him, hoping he wouldn’t go on.  He did.

“How’ll 2D react?  I mean, he was broken when we thought you died.  His mind was constantly somewhere else, half the time I saw him it looked like he had just cried… it really crushed him.  I was worried he was gonna off himself or something.  And now you’re back, and now he’s gonna want to talk to Noodle he knew.  But you’ve changed.  You’re more aggressive, at least.  And I don’t know how he’ll take it…”

She wanted to rebut, but she couldn’t shy away from his words.  She wanted to point out that he couldn’t possible say she’s changed after two very brief encounters but… he was right.  She had changed.  And if 2D was really as affected as Murdoc said….  She hid her sorrow with bitterness as Murdoc continued.  “He’s gonna wanna talk to the girl he remembers, and I don’t know if you’re still her.  But I really do feel bad for him, I do.”

She gave him a menacing glare before storming off.  “Then you shouldn’t have killed her.”

\--

The bathroom door was wide open.  2D sat on a couch outside it watching Noodle as she stood in front of the mirror, doing her best to patch up her own face.  Part of him still didn’t believe that she was alive and stood before him… but she was.  He held her.  Spoke to her.  Of course she was there.  Even if she did look… different.  Similarly to how she looked different after coming back from Japan all those years ago, but even more so.  She was taller now, finally reaching the five-foot mark, but still thin as a twig, perhaps to the point of being unhealthy.  He could tell she felt that way at least, judging by how, when she ran her fingers up her torso checking for other bumps and cuts, she grimaced at how easily she could feel her ribs through her skin.

He had to remind himself not to look at her the way he had.  He couldn’t help but… notice things.  Like the prominent protrusions from her chest that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.  Her incredible, petite figure.  Her face, beautiful despite the temporary discolorations, her green eyes shining brightly as they always had….  It always fascinated him how a Japanese girl had green eyes.  Not something that would happen often, but he loved it.  He loved everything about the way she looked, head to toe… the way she moved and spoke and acted and...

_Stop it, 2D, stop it, you’re an old perv, stop it…_

“Hey Noodle?”

“Yes?”

“You look different.”

“What do you mean?”

“You look… older.”

“I am older.”

“How old are you now?  Like… seventeen, right?”

She looked over at him, suppressing a small laugh.  “2D, I’m twenty.”

“Wha- twenty?  When did that happen?”

“Last October.  And this October, I’ll be 21.  That’s how birthdays work, Stu.”  By now she was leaning against the doorframe, giving him a soft grin.  2D was happy to see it.

“Noodle…”

“Mhm?”

“I like your smile.  I missed it.  I missed you a lot”

“Oh… well, thanks.”

“You’re awfully pretty, you know.”

_DAMNIT 2D WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?_

She didn’t respond, rather she put her head down and immediately distracted herself with the first thing that caught her eye, which was unfortunately a rather nasty abrasion on her knee.  2D eventually turned his attention to the television, which, as always, held absolutely nothing interesting.  How Murdoc got it working at all in the middle of the Pacific, he wasn’t sure.  Something kept biting at the back of his mind.  A small issue, but one that would continue to bother him until it was resolved.

“Noodle?”

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you come back?”

He now had her full attention.  “What?”

“Why’d you come here, to Plastic Beach?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you know, you figure if you survived that island falling and everyone thought you were dead, you could, you know, just disappear.  Just make a new life or something, and never have to see Murdoc’s ugly ass again.  Or mine.  So why’d you come back?”

She thought for a moment.  “Well, you know, I belong here.  You guys are family.”

She was relieved to find that 2D had found this satisfactory, turning back to the television.  That wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth, either.  She didn’t think the truth was a bad thing… but she didn’t think she could tell him.  At least, not yet.  As she tended to her many wounds, the real reason dominated her thoughts.  She couldn’t tell him.  It wasn’t time.  Things would just go in the wrong direction.  But she had to tell him and she had to tell him now.  She didn’t have a deadline, she didn’t have a logical reason to tell him now, but now that the thought had established residence in her mind, she had to get it out.  But that may cause damage.

In something of a stroke of brilliance, she decided to tell him without telling him.  2D was slow, and he wouldn’t make the connection, at least she didn’t think so.

“Hey 2D?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s another reason I came back.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Uhm… you remember El Manana, right?”

His previously happy expression fell at the mention of the incident.  “What about it?”

“The song, ‘D, not the… event.”

“Okay, yeah?”

“You do remember that I wrote it, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember what it’s about?”

“Uhh… no, no I don’t.”

2D paused a moment, expecting her to continue, but she didn’t.  “Um, Noods?  Is that supposed to mean something?”

“Hai.”

“...what does it mean?”

She just smirked, walking over to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.  “It means I missed you too, 2D.”

\--

They all sat in the study, 2D and Murdoc fixed on Noodle, whose eyes were pinned to her feet.  She had washed up and been given fresh clothes, but she was mentally and physically tired and did not want to do this yet.  But it was a story that needed to be told as soon as possible, at least according to Murdoc.  He needed to know what had happened, and, for his sanity, so did 2D.  And now, in the uncomfortable heat and dim light of sundown, she told them how she survived, and what she’d been doing for the past few years.

“Did you die and come back?” was 2D’s first question, before she even started talking.

“No, how could that even…?”

“Murdoc said you were in Hell and he tried to rescue you but you couldn’t be rescued.”  He looked over at Murdoc, who turned away nervously.  “Well, to be honest, ‘D, I was just drunk when I thought I saw her… and even drunker when I told you.”

Noodle shook her head before speaking.  “No, I uh… I did survive the fall.  I never died, I was never in hell.”

Murdoc ‘accidentally’ puffed cigar smoke into 2D’s face, and asked, “How could you have possibly survived that?  I’m surprised you weren’t dead before the damn thing even hit the ground, what with all the bullets and everything…”

“Well, you gave me a parachute.  I was really scared, guys, I couldn’t think straight.  I didn’t realize that I had it until I was halfway to the ground.  So I put it on and jumped off and pulled the cord, and it slowed my fall really quickly.”

“No one saw you parachute off, love.”

“Probably because I wasn’t in air very long.  Again, I jumped off really close to the ground.  A split second later and I’d be dead.  And I almost died anyway, because the parachute got hit by some sort of debris and I was falling pretty fast even after I was using it… luckily I hit the slanted side of a rock before the ground, and it hurt, but it didn’t kill me.  I was barely conscious and really hurt, trying to crawl away from the crash, and then I looked up and saw the bomb…

“I tried to crawl away but the it exploded and threw some big metal thing into my head.  It hit me right in the face, and I was knocked out.  When I woke up, I remember there being lots of shrapnel being in my body and burns and fire… then I heard voices.  I didn’t know whose they were, ‘cause my hearing was all messed up and my vision was blurry and I couldn’t think straight… but I decided that these people were probably the same people who were trying to kill me, making sure I was dead.  When they saw me alive, well, they’d… so I hid.  I hid until I heard no one around me anymore.  I heard the hum of cars driving off and… then I was alone.  I was crying.  I so desperately wanted someone by my side, someone to pick me up and tell me everything was gonna be alright… but I knew that wasn’t gonna happen.

“If you remember, I am… I am a…”  She sighed, as if this next bit was hard for her to say.  “I am a soldier, trained in survival and medicine and combat… but… I wish I wasn’t.  I still wish I wasn’t.  When I lay on the ground all bleeding and everything, I remember thinking that I had two options.  I could keep on being _me_ , and probably die there, or I could wake up that part of my brain that would keep me alive.  I hate that part of me, I hate that… a cold-blooded murderer is a piece of me, but… I had to.  It was my only chance of survival.  I let that part of me take over and I got out alive.  I don’t remember much… but I do remember lots of pain, lots of climbing, and some hunting for animals… why did we shoot that video in the middle of nowhere, again?  Anyway…

“I got back to civilization after what was probably a few weeks… I was still really hurt, and I think I had a few broken bones, but all the bleeding had stopped, and I could find my way to the hospital.  They wouldn’t admit me without a name.  I didn’t wanna tell them, because whoever wanted me dead would probably find out and… so I gave them a fake name, and they believed it long enough to heal me up a bit.  I still wasn’t better when they figured it out, but I had a cast and instructions for care, I had bandages and most of the shrapnel removed, so I just fled.  I travelled the country a few years, living in abandoned homes, using whatever money I could scrounge up to buy food… it was barely enough to survive.  I refused to steal… at first.  Eventually I couldn’t bear the hunger and cast my morality away.

“Yes, I went back to Kong.  No one was there, in fact, the place looked like it’d been burned down.  I rummaged through the remains of the building, hoping to find one of your new phone numbers or something, but… nothing.  Nothing that would help me find you guys, at least.  I _did_ find my old guitar… and I’m glad I did.  A little reminder about who I really am, I guess.

“I had to lay low, keep hidden.  I didn’t stay in one place for very long.  I was constantly afraid that they’d find me and kill me.  After a while, I began to think the fear was unreasonable, but I decided not to risk it.  For a long time, I posed as a boy.  It was great; no way the bad guys would get me and fans wouldn’t recognize me… until I started to get weird looks from some.  Boys aren’t supposed to have breasts, and… well…”  She blushed.  “I know they’re small, but they’re still too big to hide.  I got away with it for a while, when they were even smaller, but… yes, 2D, I did grow up.

“Anyway, so now I’m a girl again and I’m in London, when I hear something on a radio.  ‘Gorillaz is producing a new album!’  I found a poster for _Plastic Beach_ , just staring at it… and I thought I saw myself on it… and I kinda freaked out on the inside.  So you _were_ together, somewhere, and you had someone who looked exactly like me.  I know it’s the cyborg now, but… you know….

“If you guys didn’t want to be found, you did a really sucky job of staying hidden, ‘cause the radio _said_ you were working from Point Nemo.  So I made that my new destination.  Apparently I lingered around that poster for too long, because someone _did_ recognise me.  A fan, of course.  She was just a little kid, and I kinda feel bad for trying to shoo her away.  It didn’t matter, she had already shouted to her mom that the girl from Gorillaz was walking around in London, and from that point it only took an hour before bullets were coming at me again.

“I didn’t want to kill them, but I just couldn’t shake them.  I… I…”  She balled her hands into fists and closed her eyes, hard.  “I had to.  I murdered three of them that first night.  I know they shot at me first, but… that side of me took over, that side of me I hate….  Anyway, there were four shooters at first, and I killed three.  The last one was scared enough that he surrendered and tried to run away, but I caught him.  And I asked him questions.

“Turns out, he was essentially a part of this militia called the Black Clouds.  Pirates, really.  I asked him why they were hunting me, and he said that they were paid to.  They told me all about your little deal, Murdoc.  Apparently you sold them a ton of weapons you knew didn’t work, and kept them money.  When they found out, they were pissed, and they wanted to hunt you down and kill you.  But to do that, they needed gear… gear that the Japanese government was _happily_ willing to provide if the Black Clouds swore to kill me too.  And keep the deal a secret of course.  All the kids in my super-soldier program were supposed to have been killed.  When they found out that one had survived, and was now playing guitar with Gorillaz, well… you know.

“So it took me like a year, but I effectively hitchhiked my way all the way over here, across two oceans and the United States… with the Black Clouds popping up to try to kill me every now and again.  I’m all scarred from all the fighting… and from the crash.  Some of them… just won’t heal, even though it’s been years… and I…

“I… killed so many.  I had to, you know?  But I hate it.  I hate this part of me, and I hate what I was forced to do… what _you_ forced me to do….”

“I don’t remember forcing you to do anything, love-”  Murdoc was immediately silenced by her glare.

“2D… I know we used to be friends… I understand if you don’t want to be anymore.  I understand if you don’t want to… to associate yourself with a killer.  Murdoc, I’m sure you’ll love it.  Good for the band’s image, right?  At least the image _you_ want the band to have.  Russel knows all this already.  But… well… I… I dunno.  See you later.”

She got up and left without another word, without giving either man time to say anything.  Her voice at the end was shaking, but she did not cry.  She wouldn’t let herself.  She’d gone into soldier mode so much over the past few years that it never truly went away.  That mentality was now a part of her, a part of her every action.  She was trained that emotions brought weakness.  She could not show emotion.  Another outburst like the one when she first saw 2D would be unacceptable.

\--

A week after her arrival, 2D lay in bed, tossing and turning, finding it impossible to sleep.  He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d lain down.  He didn’t know what time it was that he decided to rest.  He did know that now, it was four in the morning, perhaps too late to even _try_ to sleep.  But… there was no reason to get up early in the morning.  He could sleep through the day if he wanted.  That brought with it an issue though: he wouldn’t be able to spend time with Noodle.  Above all, that is what he wanted to do.

In fact, he had wanted to sleep with her the night she returned.  Not in any sexual way, just… sleep, holding each other, feeling each other’s every breath and heartbeat….  Why he wanted to do this, he wasn’t sure, but he just chalked it down to having missed her for so long.  Earlier, when he was talking to her while she cleaned her wounds, he almost brought it up.  They didn’t have a place for her, so why wouldn’t he offer?  In the end he had two fears.  First, he was afraid she’d take it the wrong way, and second… second… he didn’t know.  The greater fear stemmed from he did not know where, but it caused him to become nervous even at the thought of mentioning it.

Truth be told, he didn’t know where Noodle was now.  She had disappeared after their quick conversation, 2D eventually going to find her.  He just wanted to talk to her, or watch a movie or something, but she seemed to be nowhere on the island.  He knew there was no way she’d left again, as there were no vehicular departures and Russel never left, but… he still couldn’t find the young woman.  He’d talked to Russel and Murdoc, both of whom said that she was just fine, that they’d seen her around, doing normal things.  They mentioned that she was unusually quiet, though.

So he eventually retired to his bedroom plopping himself on his bed, not bothering to undress or even lift the covers.  He just pushed his head into his pillow, trying to stave off a headache that threatened to ruin his night.  And he did the same the next night, and the next, until now, when, for the first time since her return, sleep decided to elude him, frustrating him quite unreasonably.  Kicking his bed, he decided to get up and take a walk.  Clear his head a bit, get some fresh air, look out at the ocean…

He took his walk outside, on the water, strolling about with no goal.  Just walking, humming to himself, a song he couldn’t quite place.  He looked up at the moon, which would soon be replaced by a sun.  It was just as reasonable to call the hour ‘extremely early’ as to call it ‘extremely late’.  He thought he heard only the wind at first, but as he walked, he realized that the song he was humming came to his head for a reason.  Faintly, he could hear an acoustic guitar, being rather sweetly played.  He gravitated toward the noise.  It seemed to get stronger as he approached the lighthouse, more and more recognizable.  It was one of their less popular songs, _Faust_ , though it was one that 2D had a larger hand in writing than most.  He was rather proud of it, even if he had extremely few lines.  It was nice to play, nice to listen to, and especially nice hearing it on the guitar.

He was at the lighthouse now, and could hear the lyrics being softly sung from the other side.

_Shigoto no ato ni, me ga sameru, nani ka shinakucha, shigoto no ato ni._

As he rounded the structure, she finally came into view, but didn’t seem to notice him.  She was wearing a nightgown, her favorite guitar in hand, sitting comfortable against the building and looking out at the sky.  He wasn’t exactly looking to get her attention, but he decided to sing along, adding his part to the song as she sung her line again.

_Shigoto no ato ni,_

_After a hard day,_

2D froze.  He didn’t even get to “hard” before she stopped playing, seemingly nearly dropping her guitar.  She turned her head to face him.  “Oh, uh… hello, 2D”

“Heya, Noods.  What are you doing up?”

“I, uh, I was just, playing, you know.”

“Okay… well, I can’t sleep for some reason.  My mind keeps going all over the place and my bed’s real uncomfortable.”

“I see.  Well, good night.”  She stood up, instrument in hand, and went to leave.

“Wait a second.”

She stopped without turning around or speaking a word.

“Noodle…”

“Yes?”

“Have… have you been avoiding me?”

Now she did turn around, a hint of sadness clearly hidden in her stony expression.  “What makes you say that?”

“Well, I mean I’ve hardly seen you since you’ve been back and all, but Murdoc and Russ said that they see you all the time.  So I’m wondering why only I haven’t seen you.”

“2D…”

“I really missed you, Noodle.  I wanna be able to do stuff with you and hang out all the time but it seems like you’re avoiding me.”

She sighed.  “Good night, 2D.”

And now she did march off and 2D did not stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> El Manana can be interpreted as being about loving someone who may never love you back.
> 
> The song at the end, as stated, is a lesser-known Gorillaz song called Faust. If you're reading Gorillaz fanfiction, I assume you're well-versed enough in Gorillaz in general to have heard it before, but, you know... I dunno. That being said, if you haven't heard it, you must, for it is one of my personal favorites. There are no vocals until like two thirds in, but it's still good. Obviously the Japanese is sung by Noodle and the English is sung by 2D. Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTFm_fxeusA
> 
> I like that song a lot... :P Anyway, thanks for reading, you rock. This is officially the longest single chapter I've ever written for any of my fics, at nearly 6,000 words. I was a little enthusiastic, okay? Stop judging me.
> 
> That being said, I don't really like how it came out. Not horrible, but... you know.
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos help a lot in terms of encouragement. Until next time, my friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been like two weeks- sorry. I've had a lot on my plate.
> 
> In this chapter, I wanted to give Noodle lines in Japanese, not just 'she muttered in Japanese' or something like that. Unfortunately, I don't know a thing about the language, aside from extremely few basic words. So... I'm sorry, but there is poorly translated romaji here that I used an online translator to create. I know there are problems, and for those of you who are Japanese or speak Japanese, I am sorry for butchering the language.

_ 2D had just woken up with yet another pounding headache.  There seemed no rest for the still forming band, driven to its limit by Murdoc before they even had a guitarist.  2D was relieved that morning to have been woken up by the rain, rather than a screaming Satanist with a temper.  Murdoc had his issues, but he had 2D’s best interests at heart, didn't he? _

_ He made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find Russel at work, doing his thing.  He was odd, Russel was.  Big, aggressive at times, damned to live with spirits, haunted by the death of his friends… yet he retained interest in the mundanity of cooking.  It meant they all had fluffy pancakes every morning, and 2D wasn't about to change that, so he never brought it up. _

_ But Russel wasn't in the kitchen, no, he was still asleep.  It occurred to 2D that he had woken up abnormally early; the sun was barely above the horizon, barely managing to shine through a thick layer of cloud.  But in Kong it was dark.  It was always dark. _

_ With a sigh, the man made his way to the lounge, to find Murdoc sitting with his head down leaning against an armrest on the couch.  He was mostly naked and rather sickly looking, even for him.  In front of him, on a table, was a bowl of cold ramen that had surely been sitting there for hours. _

_ “Umm… Muds?  You awake?” _

_ He responded only with a grunt. _

_ “Did you even go to sleep last night?” _

_ “What the hell do you think?” _

_ “Well I don't know.  Could have just gotten up real early.” _

_ Murdoc shot 2D a glare, his movements, like his speech, slow and seemingly painful.  “I suppose you're wondering why I look like shit.” he said. _

_ “Well, you go out an awful lot, and-” _

_ “Damn right I do.  But last night I got drunk a little faster than usual at, uh… I forgot where.  Then these big guys came up to me and asked me to do shots with them.  Now, I don't know what they were shots of… but I know that it made me feel disgusting and it tasted awful… you know what?  I don't even think it was liquor.  I'm pretty sure it was petrol.” _

_ “You did shots of petrol?” _

_ “Guess so.” _

_ “You should go to the hospital.” _

_ “I'm fine, mate.  Just need a minute.  You can… you've worked hard, 2D.  Nothing today.  Just… have fun.” _

_ “Really?  Thanks, Murdoc!” _

_ “Don't mention it.  It’s hard enough not to puke as it is, I don't need to see your face any more than I have to.” _

_ There was a loud knock at the front door, earning the raspy response of “FUCK OFF!”  But the knocking persisted, forcing Murdoc to solve the issue in one of his favorite ways. _

_ “2D, could you go see what the hell those people want?” _

_ The knocking stopped as 2D approached the door, as if someone knew he was coming.  He opened the door, looked around, and found no one.  Not even any vehicles driving away.  There was, however, a rather large crate sitting in front of him.  No labels, except for the address of Kong itself.  He tried to lift it.  It was heavy.  And… moving on its own?  He hurried it away from the door and back into the lounge with Murdoc, setting it down in front of the couch as gently as he could… it felt like it contained something alive. _

_ “Murdoc… what the hell did you order?” _

_ “I didn't order anything.” _

_ “Then what's that?” _

_ “How am I supposed to know?  Open it up!” _

_ “But, but, but there's something inside of it.” _

_ “REALLY?  No shit, dullard, that's what boxes are for.” _

_ “No no no, something moving.” _

_ Murdoc looked intrigued.  “Really now?” _

_ “Yes, yes there is, and I, I don't know if I can-” _

_ He was interrupted by the sound of the crate’s lid being pushed open from the inside.  They both stared in mixed fear and curiosity, watching as it slid onto the floor, allowing the crate’s contents to jump out and onto the carpeted floor. _

_ It wasn't an animal.  It wasn't a machine.  It was- _

_ “Anata ha dare desu ka?  Koko ha doko desu ka?  Nanimoshiri mase n!  Anata ha watashiwo tasuke te kudasai daro u ka?  Watashiha koko de anzen desu ka?  Sono bokkusu ni watashiga naze desu ka?  Watashiima made modotte suru tsumori desu ka?  Shiri mase n!  Gomennasai anata wojama shira shi, watashiha moushiwakeari mase n watashiha koko ga, nanimoashira nai!  Shitte i masu ka?  Watashiha onaka ga suki mashita.  Koko no ryouri ha ari masu ka?  Watashiha ikutsu ka wo motsu koto ga deki masu ka?” _

_ “2D… what is that?” _

_ “I think it’s a little Asian girl.  Like… nine, maybe?” _

_ “Well, what the fuck is it doing here?  Get rid of it!” _

_ “What?  I can’t just kick her to the curb!  What if she needs help or… or something?” _

_ The girl took a step away from the men, toward her crate, eyeing them cautiously.  She looked around the room, finding it dirty, but not repulsive.  Nothing particularly eye-catching, except an electric guitar sitting in the corner of the room.  Her eyes went wide upon seeing it, and she pointed to it and looked back to the men.  “Gitaa!  Hiku koto ga deki masu!” _

_ Murdoc looked at 2D.  “What’s she saying now?” _

_ “I think she wants the guitar.” _

_ “Why would she-” _

_ But the girl turned around, pulling something else out of the crate.  A red Gibson Les Paul, in immaculate condition.  She slung the strap around her body and got in position to play, before looking between the men and pointing at an amplifier sitting next to the guitar in the corner of the room.  2D stood, compliant with the wishes of the child, and pulled the small amp next to her, hooking it up and handing her the cord to the guitar.  She took it with confidence, plugging it in and turning all the dials on the amp to her liking, knowing exactly where she wanted them. _

_ “‘D… what the hell is going on, mate?” _

_ “I have no idea.” _

_ The girl took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and played.  The first chord was loud and powerful, something one might hear in top-end hard rock.  She then launched into a series of fast, energetic riffs, each more impressive than the last, the overall effect forcing Murdoc and 2D to the edges of their seats, utterly shocked by what they were seeing and hearing from the child.  Then another powerful chord… then that chord again, and again and again, she repeated it so quickly that it almost sounded sustained.  She began her grand finale- one final, rapid riff, played midair during a rather long karate kick, striking the last and loudest note at the instant she landed.  She rested the guitar on the ground before turning to the men and bowing. _

_ “2D… am I still shitfaced, or have we found our new guitarist?” _

_ “I think we found her, Murdoc.” _

_ “...and she’s a little girl from a crate who can’t speak English, right?  I’m not just imagining that part?” _

_ “No, you’re right.  I can’t really believe it either.”  2D approached the girl, who, to his surprise, did not shy away.  Not even when he picked her up.  Instead, she giggled, pawing at the man’s hair.  “Naze anata no kamiga aoi no desu ka?”  2D chuckled, amused by her behavior. _

_ “Lookie, Murdoc!  She likes me!” _

_ “Oh, how adorable.” _

_ “I know, she is really-” _

_ “Do you know what sarcasm is, ‘D?” _

_ “Well, yes.” _

_ “Right, right, course you do.” _

_ 2D looked back to the child in his arms.  “So, lil’ girl, what’s your name?” _

_ She gave him a confused look.  “Naniwo itte iru no desu ka?” _

_ “Is that your name?  It sounds long…” _

_ The girl felt her stomach rumble.  How long had it been since she had eaten?  She glanced around the room again, her eyes falling on the abandoned bowl of ramen sitting on the table.  A familiar food, one she oddly felt confident she could name for the men.  She lookdd 2D in the eye, and said “Noodle!” _

_ “Is that your name?  Is it Noodle?” _

_ “Noodle!”  She said it with more enthusiasm and a smile, believing he understood her. _

_ “Well then, Noodle,” he said, setting her down, “I think you’ll fit in right well here with Gorillaz.  We can find a room for you and everything.  Oh, I’m 2D, by the way.” _

_ She looked at him confused, once more.  “2D,” he said, placing his hand on his chest, “Murdoc,” he said, pointing at Murdoc, “and Noodle!” he said, pointing at the girl.  She responded by saying “Noodle!” again, this time pointing at the bowl. _

_ “I think she’s just hungry, mate.  Noodle’d be a dumb name anyway.” Murdoc advised. _

_ 2D continued to focus his attention on the girl.  “Is that right, Noodle?  Are you hungry?” _

_ “No, dullard, ‘Noodle’ is not her- you know what, never mind.”  Murdoc turned to the girl.  “Welcome, Noodle.  You can stay as long as you play.” _

_ Her stomach rumbled again; this time, she drew her hands to her belly and frowned.  2D decided to guide her to the kitchen. _

\--

2D didn’t quite know why this memory decided to invade his thoughts.  Perhaps it was because it was one of the most important moments of his life.  The start of a wonderful bond that he hoped never would be frayed.  But now… he wasn’t sure.  He didn’t know why Noodle was keeping her distance, something she kept doing for weeks.

Life on Plastic Beach was calmer, more casual.  No more recordings, no more cyborg, no more pirates, everyone just sat around distracting themselves however they could.  2D spent a lot of his time on the beach, chatting with Russel or just looking out over the ocean.  Noodle would stay in what had become her room, listening to music, playing it, watching movies, overall catching up with the culture she’d missed over the past few years.  Russel would spend a lot of his time swimming about, as there was little else to do when there was no one to talk to.  On occasion 2D or Noodle would bring a radio or similar out to him, and he regarded it as something of a treat.  Murdoc, simply put, disappeared.  One night he was there, the next, he and his plane were gone, no note or indication of his destination, no indication as to whether he’d return.  Mixed relief and concern struck those remaining on Plastic Beach upon finding out, all of them now considering the prospect of leaving, but never bringing it up with another.

\--

She didn't know why she was in his room, but in it she was, looking about, taking in his living quarters and wondering how he managed in this small, dark area.  Rain could be heard hitting the surface of the water even as deep as they were.  It was a downpour.  Thunder cracked loudly and erratically, making her body tense up each time.  Noodle.  A super soldier.  Not afraid of bullets or fire, not afraid of blood, not afraid of peril, not afraid of death… but a simple thunderstorm unnerved her in odd ways.  Not long after the storm began she found herself in 2D’s thankfully vacant room, snooping.

His room was just as she imagined it would be- dark, messy, but still charmingly 2D.  In time, he had put up a few posters and was apparently allowed a television and game console for entertainment.  She the television on, unsurprised to find it paused halfway through  _ Dawn of the Dead _ .  She wondered if he ever got tired of that movie.  Clearly he didn’t.  Continuing around the room, she found all that she expected- a couple of keyboards, empty cigarette cartons, full cigarette cartons, equally plentiful empty and full pill bottles, clothes strewn about, a bed that clearly hadn’t ever in any way been cleaned, a few of 2D’s mementos from various shows and performances…

And a red satchel.  Curious, she picked it up and rooted through it.  Music, lots of it.  She assumed it was all for the Plastic Beach album, an album she hadn’t yet found the courage to listen to.  Looking at the melodies and lyrics, humming them to herself, she found them to be rather nice.  Not quite as abrasive as much of their past work.  The handwriting was both Murdoc’s and 2D’s; clearly they'd managed to get along and work together.  At least that's what she wanted to believe.  But she knew better.

She eventually came across something rather familiar, lyrics and melody.

_ Up on Melancholy Hill, there’s a plastic tree _

_ Are you here with me? _

_ Just looking out on the day of another dream _

_ Well you can't get what you want, but you can get me _

_ So let's set out to sea, love _

_ Cause you are my medicine when you're close to me _

Her hand flew to her mouth as she dropped the paper.  He’d finished it.  The half-song she wrote for him all those years ago, he’d finished it.  And it was better than she thought she could write it herself.  Had he realized that this song was indeed originally written  _ for him _ ?  Did he complete it thinking of her?  Maybe he actually did…

_ No, Noodle.  You cannot allow these thoughts.  The past is the past, there is no need for it to sour the present. _

It took her a moment to realize she was tearing up.  And smiling.  She was so happy, so honored, even if he didn't mean what he wrote the way she did, just to think he so beautifully finished the piece of music she’d wanted so desperately to finish.  It was almost as if her supposed death could stop it’s completion.  He was honoring her by doing this, in her eyes.

But that meant it was time to listen to the album.  She had to hear just this one song, at least.  She pulled her phone out of her pocket, plugging it into one of 2D’s keyboards to use its speakers.  She found the album, scrolled to  _ On Melancholy Hill _ , turned up the volume, and hit play.  He had sung it himself, too.  There was no reason he wouldn’t, but hearing those words sung in the way only he could, on top of the sweet chords and moving beat… it was incredible.  She listened to it again and again, laying on 2D’s bed, allowing her emotions to course through her just for this short time.  Just for this little treat.  Was it closure?  Probably not.  But it was something.

Engrossed by the music, the sound of the lift opening just a few feet away from her never reached her ears.  She only looked over after she began feeling as though she was being watched.  Green eyes met black, and the music was cut immediately.

“How ya doing, love?”

“2D!  Umm, I was just, uh-”

“Listening to music in my room?”

“Yes…”  She sat up, facing him.

2D smirked, glancing at the window.  Noodle took the opportunity to search the room for an exit, finding none other than the lift, which 2D was guarding.  There was no running this time.

“Do you like the song?”  Noodle’s head snapped back to the singer when he spoke.

“Hmm?”

“That song that you were just playing on the speakers.  Do you like it?”

“Oh, um, yes, very much so.”

“I worked real hard on that one, you see, cause it was one you wrote before.”

“Umm, good, 2D.  Thanks.  It, uh, really means a lot to me.”

“Good, good… do you like the rest of the album?”

“I actually have only listened to the one song.”

“Ah, okay.  Well, there's a couple of good ones in there, at least in my opinion.  Most of it was written by Murdoc, but I did some, and some were other things you wrote that I finished.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah… why are you in my room anyway?”

She froze for a moment, thinking of a response.  It was her hope that he wouldn't ask.

“I guess I was just curious.  Curious what your life has been like, how you've been living…”

“Was it because of the storm?”

She didn't know herself.  Perhaps it  _ was _ a reflex left from the past.  But she wouldn't tell him that, of course.  “No, I really was just curious about your, uh, quarters…”

“You could have just asked me.”

There was a brief silence.

“Well, I… I'm not going to escape this talk, am I?”

“Sorry, love.  I don't think so.”

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them, Noodle avoiding eye contact at all costs.  She took a new interest in the design of the floor, at least, that which wasn't covered by anything.  Her gaze remained on the ground as they carried out their conversation.

“Noodle, I… I… listen, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable, so if you really wanna leave without… talking, you can.”  He stepped aside, gesturing to the open lift door.

“I thought you said I couldn't escape.”

“Well, turns out you can.”

She sighed.  “No, you're right… we have to talk.”

Another long silence.  Noodle had shifted her attention to the window, and 2D had taken a single step closer to her.  Nearly a minute passed before 2D decided he should go first.  “Noodle… ah, shit Noods, I dunno.  I… I missed you.  I missed you so much.  When I thought you died, it… it ruined me.  And now you're here in front of me and I feel like you want nothing to do with me.  What I really want, Noodle, is to just talk to you.  Spend time with you.  Watch old movies and play music with you like we used to, remember?  But you're avoiding me and I just don't know why you're doing it.  It’s bothering me, Noodle.  But… if you don't want to do those things or, or something, that's okay.  You don't have to like me anymore.  I get it, you're all grown up now and I'm just that weird guy who was your friend when you were a kid.  That's okay, Noodle, but… you could just tell me.  If you don't like me anymore, just tell me, please.  And I'll leave you alone for the rest of your life if you want.  But I need to hear it myself, first.”

“You're worried that I don't like you anymore?”

“Well… yeah.”

She smiled, still looking out the window, and shook her head.  He couldn't be further off the mark.  “2D… that's not it.  That'll never happen.  You don't have to worry.”

“Okay… then what is it?”

“I guess… I'm just afraid.”

“You're afraid of me?  I'm not that bad, am I?”

She giggled a little.  “No, Stu… I'm afraid to spend time with you.  I just don't want to disappoint you.”

“How could you disappoint me?”

“You wanna spend time with me and do all the things we used to, right?  Well… you don't.  You want to spend time with the kid who jumped out of that crate, or the teenager who kicked your ass in Halo.”

“You never-”

“Oh yes I did.  Anyway, uh, you want to spend time with the girl you used to know, but… it’s been years, ‘D.  I’m an adult now, and if we hang out again, you'll be expecting the old Noodle.  I'm afraid that I'm too different a person, now, after… you know.  And I'm afraid that you won't like the new Noodle.”

“You know that's impossible.”

“2D-”

“Even if you are an adult, even if you are all bruised and you killed some pirates or whatever, you're still Noodle.  Even if you've changed, you're still Noodle.  And if you  _ are _ really really different, then I'm just gonna have to get to know the new you, and I bet you're a lot better now than you were when you were younger.”

“I, I just…”

“I missed you, Noodle.  Really.  You won’t disappoint me.  So, if you really still like me and I'm not just some old man to you now, why don't we finish up that movie?”  He pointed to the still-paused  _ Dawn of the Dead  _ illuminated on the television screen.  She giggled a little.

“You're not old, 2D.”

“I'm like twice your age, aren't I?”

“Have you already forgotten how old I am now?”

“Like… 16?”

_ Wow, he’s even farther off than last time. _  “20, ‘D.”

After a moment, Noodle got up, walked over to him, and after looking him in the eye for a moment, threw her arms around him.  It wasn't long before he returned the hug, feeling her melt into his arms.  It filled him with an overwhelming sense of… something he couldn't place.  But it was good.  He was happy.  He finally had his Noodle back.  And he would never let her go.

Unfortunately, he did let her go, sooner than he wanted to.  But she pushed herself away a bit, keeping her hands on his chest.  “Umm… good night, 2D.  See you at breakfast.”

Then she disappeared in the lift.  He sat down on his bed, unsure whether his problem had been solved.  ‘See you at breakfast’... she hadn’t had a meal with him since arriving on Plastic Beach.  He lay down, starting the music again, calling it at least a step in the right direction.

 

Intended translations:

  1. Who are you?  Where am I?  I don't know anything!  Would you please help me?  Am I safe here?  Why was I in that box?  Am I ever going to go back?  I don't know!  I'm sorry I have disturbed you, and I am sorry that I am here, but I don't know anything!  Do you know?  I am hungry.  Is there food here?  Can I have some?
  2. Guitar!  I can play that!
  3. Why is your hair blue?
  4. What are you saying?



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you all rock. Comments and kudos are very encouraging, as always. I'll try to be faster in the future.  
> (In the comments, criticism is just as welcome as anything else.)
> 
> Thank you thank you thank you. Dunno what else to say. Uhh... Bananas are an excellent source of potassium.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've kept you waiting long enough, now haven't I?

2D had woken up early, rather excited.  Excited and nervous.  It was just a meal with the person he considered his closest friend, but he felt that this one was special.  More important, for some reason.  So after he woke, he cleaned up, put on his best clothes (which were still just jeans and a t-shirt) and made his way to the kitchen table just a little earlier than he thought she usually got up for breakfast.  And then he sat, hands folded on the table, waiting for her arrival.

And waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting…

He distracted himself however he could- playing with his phone, watching birds out the window, turning on a nearby television, but he couldn’t keep his mind off of one simple fact: She wasn’t there.  He had been waiting an hour and she hadn’t come.  The thought struck that perhaps she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to sleep in.  Perhaps she was waiting for him to meet her in her room.  Perhaps… _perhaps she changed her mind_.

Frustrated, he continued to wait for another hour before giving up and deciding to hunt her down.  But first he checked the clock, hoping to find that it was a bit earlier than he thought.  And he was right.  Seven minutes.  He had waited seven minutes, blinded by anticipation, believing two hours had passed.  A frustrated grunt later, he was back in his seat, having a staring contest with the wall, and losing.

Another seven minutes passed, and at this point he had his head down on the table, and probably would be asleep if it weren’t for the business of his mind.  But at long last, he heard a chair scoot out somewhere in front of him.  He looked up.  There, sitting across the table, was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.  She had cleaned up too, it seemed.  Her scars seemed to have healed overnight.  He didn’t think it was makeup; Noodle usually didn’t use any when there weren’t any cameras around.  No, her scars were healed, her hair was parted, and her large, shimmering, emerald eyes peered at him shyly.  She had on similar attire to his own- a slim-fitting but rather conservative t-shirt and tighter jeans.  Her arms lay on the table, her hands mere inches from his…

As he sat there, gawking at her appearance, he came to realize something.  Something that had been there for a long time, but had always been relegated to the recesses of his mind, for he dare not ponder its implications.  Something that made him feel incredible and horrible and excited and terrified and, above all, guilty.  Something that he refused to admit to himself.  Something that he simply couldn’t deny any longer.  He had rather strong feelings for Noodle.  Nothing like he’d ever felt before.  Nothing like the meaningless physical attraction toward the countless women he’d seduced or who had seduced him over the years.  Nothing even like his romantic interest in previous serious girlfriends.  No, this was special.  This was different.  This was…

 _Wrong_.

The woman who sat in front of him was twelve years his junior.  She was a child when they met, and she grew up before his eyes.  He was one of the individuals who helped to raise her, loving her like a little sister until she disappeared.  Teaching her things.  Playing music with her, playing video games with her, watching movies and going for walks and enjoying meals and protecting her from her fears and, and… and…

He still wanted to do all those things.  More than anything else he wanted to do all of the above.  But… seeing her the way he did now… it would all be in a different context.  A movie with your little sister is just a fun night, but a movie with the girl you have feelings for is completely different.  And problematic, considering that Noodle was both.

But she was different now, wasn’t she?  Grown up?  Mature?  She was fearing that she’d changed a lot, right?

Try as he might, he couldn’t shake a little voice in his head telling him that his feelings were not only strange, but wrong.  There was something wrong with him because he wanted to be with the person he’d been so close to when she was a child.  Even if she was his best friend, the only light in his life, the only reason he thought he had to keep going even though all seemed dark… it still just seemed wrong.

Even if she wasn’t so much younger, even if he never thought of her like a sister, it’d still be wrong.  She’s a part of the band!  Such an in-band relationship would cause problems later on, right?  Distraction in the short-term, and tension and arguing after the inevitable breakup.  That’s how it always seemed to work.  Not to mention Russel would most likely kill him.

Sighing, 2D put his head in his hands, bouncing on his bed a little.  He didn’t remember ever coming down to his room, but he imagined he must have done so in a state of panic, as he was sweating rather aggressively.  Then another thought struck him: he had just left Noodle without saying a word.  Without having any food.  Feeling or no feelings, it was a rude gesture, and he had to remedy it.  Especially because it was effectively his first contact with her since she was a teenager.  He didn’t want it to end on a sour note.

Arriving back in the kitchen, he heard sizzling and found a thin mist of smoke hanging in the air, causing him to realize that he had forgotten to make anything.  How could they have breakfast if there was no breakfast to have?  Mentally kicking himself, he rounded the corner to find Noodle standing over a frying pan, wrestling with sausages that it seemed no amount of butter or nonstick spray could separate from the metal.

“Umm… Noodle?”  He approached rather sheepishly, looking at his hands.

“Oh, hey 2D.  Listen… if you don’t wanna do this, that’s okay.  I can just bring your food down when it’s-”

“What?  No, no, of course I want to!  Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, when I sat down, you stared at me for a solid minute and then you just ran off without a word.”

“Oh, right.  Sorry.  Just, uh, realized I forgot my pills.”

She smirked.  “Are you sure you forgot them, or did you take one too many?”

He observed as she struggled with the sausages, her movements getting more aggressive as frustration rose.  Bits of skin were being left on the pan, tearing off of each link and searing themselves to the pan.  It wasn’t long before she shut the burner off and dismissed breakfast as “ruined”.

“It’s okay, Noods, we can just make something else.”

“Are you saying you wanna do it together?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced quickly at the floor.  “Yeah, I guess.”

She smiled a little.  “Alright, what did you have in mind?”

“Well… we’ve both seen Russ make pancakes an awful lot.  Surely we can figure that out on our own.”

She gave him a gentle smile, taking a step toward him.  “Are you sure you want to taint his recipe with our horrible imitations?”

“Erm- no?”

She touched him on the shoulder briefly.  “It’ll be fine, let’s do it!”

And she launched into action, pulling things out of the cabinets and setting them on a counter.  Meanwhile, 2D was trying to figure out what could possibly go into pancakes.  She was already mixing flour with sugar, salt, and baking soda when 2D concluded that pancakes probably contained milk as well.  And so he made his contribution, pouring an indeterminate amount of milk into the mixing bowl, rather cautiously to prevent spills, while Noodle simply watched with a wide grin.  After a small pool had formed, he looked up at her.  “Is this good?”

“It’s a little much.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine!  They’ll just be a little thin.  Now, step aside so I can mix it all together.”

“Don’t worry I got it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah…”

“Alright, don’t make a mess.”

Noodle walked over to the refrigerator to receive butter, shaking her head and laughing a little.  She almost felt like a mother dealing with a small child.  But that’s what it was almost always like with 2D.  When they were alone together, she always took care of him, and she loved doing so.  Just like how he insisted upon caring for her and protecting her no matter the circumstance.  She cast her hopeful thoughts away and returned to 2D and the bowl, finding that the milk had been perfectly blended with the dry ingredients.  She poured the butter in and instructed 2D to fetch some eggs, while she stirred.

“How many?” he asked.

“Just two.”

“What color?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“What size?”

“Doesn’t really matter.”

“Chicken eggs or platypus eggs?”

“Doesn’t- wait, what?”

“Well, Murdoc got his hands on platypus eggs a while back and stuck them in here.  I figure they must be used for cooking something, but-”

“Chicken eggs.  Just- it’s chicken eggs, ‘D.”

“Alright.”

As eggs were cracked and blended into the mixture, she wondered how and why Murdoc obtained platypus eggs.  It took her more time than she would have liked- one second- to realize that she didn’t want to know.  Then the mixture was moved to a burner, where, yes, the batter did turn out runny and the pancakes did turn out thin.  More along the lines of rather crisp crepes by the time they were finished, sitting across from each other once more, slowly making their way through their syrup-covered delights.

“So Noodle, what’s new?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s been so long, there must be something interesting or new about you.  Something that’s happened or whatever.”

“Uhh, well, I guess… other than all the pirates, nothing interesting has happened at all.  And didn’t you see your fair share of them yourself?”

“Well, yes, but that bloody cyborg Murdoc built kept them away for the most part.  The closest I ever got to one was when a dead one fell out of his plane and landed about ten feet away from me.”

“That sounds-”

“I was worried he’d turn into a zombie or something.”

Noodle couldn’t stop herself from snorting.  Some obsessions never die, do they?

“Hey!  What’s so funny?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know if I’ve ever made a joke in my life.”

“You don’t need to be a comedian to be funny.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah.”

A brief silence as they finished off their meals.

“2D?”

“Yeah, love?”

She blushed a little when he called her ‘love.’  She knew he called everyone that.  Everyone called everyone that.  It was a common way to address people in England.  It affected her nonetheless.  “Umm, well, you asked what’s new with me.  So… what’s new with you?”

“Oh, um, I got this real nice thing to make music with.  It’s an old rhythm machine with a really long name, so I just kept calling it the doncamatic.  One of the guests that Murdoc brought on liked the name, so we wrote a song together called _Doncamatic_.  That was cool I suppose.”

“Who was the guest?”

“I don’t remember.  There were a lot of them.  You saw them right?  Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed and the others?”

“Yeah, they were here when I first arrived, but they all just disappeared.”

“Yeah, they used the confusion to escape.  Most of them were forced to be here just like me, they just didn’t have a whale trained on them.  Lucky bastards.”

She lay her head in her hand and her elbow on the table, just looking at 2D for a moment, before saying, “Come on, let’s watch a movie.”

\--

As the credits rolled, 2D found himself in a rather uncomfortable position.  Neither had spoken since the movie started, he didn’t even know that they had moved.  All he knew was that Noodle had sat on the opposite end of the couch at the beginning, and now, she was cuddled up in his arms the same way she would have ten years ago.  This made him panic.  He couldn’t allow this sort of contact, not after realizing that… that he _liked_ her.  While he enjoyed being this close to her since she was a child, now he felt it was much less innocent.  Now he felt, once again, it was wrong.  But he couldn’t deny that he was extremely comfortable, and clearly, so was she.  He didn’t want to let her go, even though the logical side of his mind screamed at him to do so.  His heart disagreed, or at least that’s what he thought was happening, for it started beating incredibly fast.  He got hot, the few places that were skin-on-skin lighting ablaze on his body.  This was wrong.  He had to break away.

“Uh, hey, uhm, Noods, listen, um-”

“Are you okay?”

“Me?  Yeah, fine, I’m fine, course I’m okay, I just, need to, go to, the, uh, bathroom.”

“Oh, alright.”  As she got up and scooted back to the other side of the couch, she shot him a skeptical look as he hurried to the lavatory.  There, he splashed cool water on his face, hoping to calm his nerves just a little.  Maybe hoping it would wash away his feelings.  It didn’t exactly do either.

Upon his return, 2D sat in a separate chair altogether, finding she had set up yet another movie.  Next up was _Inglorious Bastards_ \- they were still catching up on all Noodle had missed that past few years.  Taking a break from watching the same old zombie flicks again and again.

“Hey Toochi?”

It had been years since he’d been called that.  Not ‘2D’, but _Toochi_.  A nickname that originated from her struggles with English pronunciation as a child, one that he was glad stuck with them through the years.  He found it adorable.  “Yeah, love?”

“I’m glad.”

“Why?”

“Well… like I said, I was afraid of getting to know you again.  Afraid I’d changed too much.  But, truth is, ever since we first sat down for breakfast… I’ve felt like my old self again.  I didn’t have that voice in the back of my head telling me to suppress my emotions, I didn’t feel aggressive or… or anything.  For the first time in years, I felt like… myself.  So thank you.”

“Oh.  You’re welcome.”  In truth, she had changed, but only slightly.  She had changed exactly as one would expect.  She was still Noodle, still playful and happy, at least since that morning, though she was quite noticeably and adult.  An adult with the heart of a child, but an adult nonetheless.  He was the same way.

And they watched another movie in silence, in separate chairs, enjoying every moment.  Then they watched another.  And another.  And before they knew it, the sun was low in the sky, turning it a beautiful shade of red, and 2D and Noodle had gotten their fill of movies.

Noodle got up and made her way to a small old radio on the floor in the corner of the room.  “I’ll put on some music.”  She sat there fiddling with it for a minute, not realized just how finicky the device was.  It wasn’t long before 2D was crouched beside her, trying to assist.  After nearly five minutes of getting nowhere with the various dials and switches, they finally picked up one station.  It was a little fuzzy, but still impressively clear considering their location.

 _Coming up is a 2005 single from British band Gorillaz, the last single from their Demon Days album and one surrounded by mystery and tragedy.  Here’s El Manana by Gorillaz_.

As the music started, he began to worry.  He looked at Noodle, hoping she wouldn’t have flashbacks or the like.  She appeared deep in thought, her eyes concentrated on the speakers in front of her.

“Do you want me to shut it off?” he asked.

“No.”

Then the first verse played.

_Summer don’t know me no more, Eager man, that’s all_

_Summer don’t know me, He just let me love in myself_

_Cause I do know, Lord, From you that,_

_Just died, yeah_

“Are you sure Noodle?”

“Yes.”  She said it calmly, without looking at him.  Her cheeks seemed a touch red.

_I saw that day, Lost my mind, Lord I’ll find_

_Maybe in time_

_You’ll want to be mine_

“2D, Remember when I first came here and you asked why I came back?”

“Yeah.”

“And I just said that I wrote this song?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you figured it out?”

“No.”

_Don’t stop the buck when it come, It’s the dawn, you’ll see_

_Money won’t get there, Ten years passed tonight, You’ll flee_

_If you do that, I’ll be some_

_To find you_

“2D… I just… I… just listen to it.”

“What?”

“Pay close attention to the lyrics.”

_I saw that day, Lost my mind, Lord I’ll find_

_Maybe in time,_

_You’ll want to be mine_

During the instrumental break, he looked up at her to find her beautiful emerald eyes no more than three inches from his black ones.  He made the connection, and his heart and stomach began to do backflips.  ‘Maybe in time, you’ll want to be mine’.  She wrote those lyrics years ago _about him_.  She felt the same way he did.  And now their lips were almost touching…

Instinct took over, and in an instant, he held her close in a passionate kiss.  One that was returned immediately.  One that felt so right, so perfect, so unbelievably… wrong.  It only took a second for his mind to kick in and realize what he was doing.  He was kissing Noodle.  He was _kissing Noodle_.  His brain and heart fought again, scrambling his thoughts, clouding his judgement.

_I saw that day, Lost my mind, Lord I’ll find_

And he broke the kiss, got up without a word, without a glance, and fled to the lift, pressing the button that would take him to his room in an instant.  Noodle was left half-sitting, half-laying on the floor, utterly stunned, every sort of emotion clashing in her mind forming a mess that she simply could not make heads or tails of.  But the last few lines of the song pierced through, reaching her as clear as day.

_Maybe in time,_

_You’ll want to be mine_

_Maybe in time,_

_You’ll want to be mine_

It didn’t help that it was sung by 2D’s voice.  Through all the confusion, she did realize one thing: What she thought was just a big crush she had through her adolescence would better be characterized by a rather powerful four-letter word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was originally going to be longer, but I like where it ended.  
> Just a reminder, El Manana can be interpreted as being about being in love with someone who may never love you back.  
> At long last, they kiss, but nothing can ever be perfect, can it?  
> I feel like I should put more stuff here, but idk... so... bananas are an excellent source of potassium.
> 
> If I were to pick a song that reflects 2D's current state, it should be another Demon Days one, Every Planet We Reach Is Dead: https://youtu.be/6LDEm8mC-Nw  
> You know, "Dreams aren't bad, I had turned back, I love the girl, but god omly know it's, getting hard to see the sun coming through, I love you, but what are we going to do?  
> Kudos and comments help as always. Thanks for reading, you rock.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm back with a rather eventful chapter.  
> Lots of talking, not as much doing... but still eventful.
> 
> That said, I don't really like how it came out. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

Noodle shut off the radio and scrambled to her feet, staring at the lift.  Silent and lifeless, the man long gone.  She didn’t know what to do.  She didn’t know what to think.  The subject of her affection, the man she had returned for, the man she now knew she _loved_ had just kissed her, and stormed away suddenly and without a word.  Clearly if he kissed her that meant he felt the same...

No.  That’s not what happened.

_He rejected her._

And now she would pay the price for not doing what she had done for years; not just ignoring her emotions and instead letting them take control.  A horrible, horrible feeling in her heart, one that would surely never go away.  He kissed her just to see for sure and now he knew he didn’t want her.  He’d never want her.  She was an idiot.   _Such an idiot…_  And now they probably couldn’t even be friends.

The world seemed silent, apart from the tick-tock of a clock on the wall.  No waves.  No whirrs of machines of plumbing.  Just the clock, and a rhythm that taunted her with each passing second.  How many years had she waited for that moment, only for it to end so poorly?  Her mind was clouded, and, despite her better judgement, she wanted to vent.  She wanted to talk to someone, get it off her chest.  But certainly not 2D...

\--

The pinkish mush made her feet rather cold as she approached the man lazing about on the beach.  She shivered.  It wasn’t a warm day, and there was a rather strong breeze.  Perfect weather if you have someone to cuddle with, but alas, she did not.  Instead, she was stuck talking to the third last person she’d want to discuss this with, behind Murdoc and 2D himself.  No matter.  He’d at least try to cheer her up.

“Hey, Russel?”

His massive body tuned, and a wide grin spread across his face.  “How ya doin, baby girl?  I haven’t seen you all day?  What’ve you been up to?”

Noodle didn’t respond, only looking away a little.  She didn’t want him to know what had happened, but she needed to get this off her chest.  While she thought, Russel noticed her face.  Eyes and nose slightly red.  Slight blush.  Downcast expression.

“Noodle… what’s bothering you?”

“Uhh, it’s… something.”

“Come on, you can tell me!”

“I… not this time… okay, I’ll tell you some things, but you have to promise not to get mad or hurt anyone, okay?”

“...why?”

“Well… there’s a guy.”

“Noodle… where is this going?”

“Just… a guy.  There was a guy I liked back before I came here.  He was really nice and sweet and… kinda dumb and clumsy but… he was really great.  And… I just… I guess I realize that he never liked me back.  Even though I kinda thought he did for years.”

“Good.”

“What?”

“Damn, that came out wrong.  But you gotta understand, Noods, you're my little girl!  I can't have you running round with any guys or anything.  But… you're heartbroken.  I get it.  It happens, and it's not your fault.  I’m, uh… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay…”

Noodle stood her ground, trying to be strong, but in reality, she was falling apart on the inside.  All these years it had been him.  He had been the reason she came back.  He was the reason she stuck through it all.  He was… he was, more than anything else, her reason to live.  And she thought she was his.  But clearly she was wrong, and now she’d live the rest of her days in emotional agony.  Or she could continue to ignore her feelings, though that was getting harder and harder with each passing day.

Not knowing what else to do, she decided to return to her room and just go to bed.  It was only sundown, but she wanted to shut her brain off as soon as possible.  Perhaps in the realm of dreams would everything go her way.  So she said goodbye to Russel and found her way to the lift, setting off as soon as the machine would let her.  She approached the door to her room, and pulled it open.

And she found 2D in her bed just as 2D found her in his the day prior.  But he was not laying down, listening to music, rather he was sitting at the edge of the bed, hands folded, looking down at his feet, rather deep in thought.  His face was utterly expressionless; she wasn’t sure if he was even aware she had entered.

“2D…”

He didn’t respond.

“I can leave if you want.”

“It’s your room.”

“I can still leave.”

“But it’s still your room.  Wouldn’t make much sense for you to be the one to leave.”

“Are you saying you’re leaving?”

“No…”

“Oh…”

“...Noodle?”

“Yes?”

“Did I… did I mess up?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I, uh… well, when I-”

“When you kissed me?”

“Well… yeah.”

“No, of course not.”

“Really?”

“That’s… kinda what I wanted you to do.”

“Oh… so I’m not crazy for thinking you were saying you… you…”

“Love you?  Yeah, that’s right.”

“What?  You-”

“Yes, 2D.  I… yes, I do.  And… that’s never gonna change.  Even though...”

“Even though what?”

“Even though you don’t love me.”

Did he?  The man didn’t know himself.  He felt very strongly for her, yes, but… was it love?  It was different than anything he’d ever felt before.  It was a lot more comfortable than previous romantic attractions.  He felt like she just fit in his arms perfectly, physically and otherwise.  He had loved her since she was a kid, but that was a different kind of love.  Now, now he wanted to spend his every waking moment with her.  Holding her.  Eating with her.  Eventually even having children with her.  Children he’d raise alongside her and love to no end.  And, yes, he wanted to get intimate with her.  And therein lay the issue.  He simply couldn’t allow himself to do that.

“Noodle…”

“You don’t have to say anything 2D.  It’s okay.”

“Noodle, I…”

“Toochi, please-”

“I do.  Of course I love you.”

She took a step back, going rather red in the face.  Despite it all, hearing him say that excited her.  Filled her with a fleeting moment of joy before she reminded herself that he broke away from her.  Not knowing what to do, but with something of a newfound confidence, she approached 2D and sat down next to him, prompting to scoot a small distance away.  Disappointed, she decided the best way to go about this would be direct confrontation.  “Then why’d you run away?”

“Because… it’s not right.”

“What?”

“I shouldn’t love you, Noodle.  You were just a kid when I met you, and even though you were the most adorable thing… and you still are… I, just, I don’t know.  It feels… wrong.”

“So… you don’t love me?”

“Yes, Noodle, of course I do.  But I shouldn’t.  I really shouldn’t.  I helped raise you, you’re a lot younger, you’re just… you’re you!  I… I can’t be with you, Noodle.  I’m not about to be a dirty old man who takes advantage of a younger girl.”

“What are you talking- oh…”

“Yeah.”

“2D… I don’t care.  I know I’m young, but you’re not that old yourself.  Sure it would have been weird like five years ago, but now we’re both adults.  And I can make my own decisions, you wouldn’t be taking advantage of me.”

“It doesn’t matter.  I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself.”

“For being in love with someone who loves you back?”

“Not when she’s… well, you!  And besides, you can’t love me.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because, I’m an idiot.  I’m filthy.  I’m a drug addict, my eyes are all wonky, I’ve slept with a ton of women, and you’re perfect.  You deserve better.  You might think you love me or, or whatever but I bet if you just wait you’ll find someone better.”

“2D…  Please.  Don’t… don’t say that.”

“But it’s true.”

“Those are all reasons I love you, Toochi.  I don’t care that you’re, umm, _experienced_ with other women, I think it’s funny that you’re kind of slow sometimes, and I’m filthy too.  I have been since I started living with you guys.  And, if you’re broken… then I can fix you.  I think that’s a pretty large part of it, now that I think about it.  And your eyes are the most… hauntingly beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

At this point, she had turned to look at him, but he did not face her.  He kept staring at the ground, but couldn’t keep from smiling and blushing a little.  “Shouldn’t _I_ be the one doing the smooth talk?”

“Would you like to try?”

“Okay… Noodle, you… are simply the most hauntingly beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

“That sounds a little familiar.”

“Does it?”

“A bit.”

She was unaware whether he intentionally copied her or not.  It was hard to tell with him; it was just just as likely that he was being playful as it was that he had no clue.  But they were getting nowhere like this.  “2D… I really don’t care that you’re older.  I don’t care that we’re in the same band and I don’t care about anything except the fact that I love you and I have been through hell to be with you.  So, please, 2D… if you really love me too, do us both a favor and just… let this happen?”

Now 2D did turn to her, a deep longing in his eyes.  But also a deep passion.  One he saw reflected when their gazes met.  A moment later, their lips were locked once more, this time, neither pulled away.  As they kissed, their tongues danced about in each other’s mouths, and they held each other as tightly as they could, beginning to fondle each others’ backs and hair.  It wasn’t long before they both gave in to baser desires.

\--

It was a sight to behold for 2D.  One he had seen countless times before, but never like this.  Never was it so satisfying, and never did he think it would be _her._  But there she was, waiting for him.  Her naked body spread on her bed, large emerald eyes shimmering through the darkness as the last remnants of sunlight began to disappear.  His eyes made their way up, from her clean, long legs, to the forbidden flower between them.  Then to her (still unhealthily thin) stomach, her small, pert breasts, and at last, he made eye contact with her.  It was deep and meaningful.  More thought and feeling was shared between them in that moment than ever before.

It was then he asked “Are you sure?”

Then she gave him a hurried nod.  He still hesitated.  “Noodle, I… I need you to be-”

“Damnit, yes!  I’m sure!  This is… this is what I want.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re not going to.  2D, I love you.  I want this.  Please.  Please…”

And a moment later, her innocence was lost.  The barrier was broken, and for the first time, the two were joined in the most intimate way humans had come together since the beginning of the species.  She winced at first, but with time and movement, pain turned to pleasure the likes of which she had never felt before.  And, frankly, he hadn’t either.  This was different.  This was better.  Neither of them wanted it to end, but biology dictated it must.  They fell asleep in each other's’ arms at long last, albeit panting and sticky.  But it was something they’d both wanted longer than they knew.  And at long last, they were together.

\--

2D awoke to a sun too bright, fearing it would pierce his head with pain as his migraine flared up.  But it didn’t.  He didn’t have a migraine.  He did nearly every morning, and mornings he didn’t he at least felt mildly sick.  But this time, he didn’t.  He felt good.  Satisfied.  Happy.  And he was naked.

It took a moment for the events of the night prior to come to him, and when they did, he felt a strong wave of regret.  He let his lesser instinct take the better of him and he had sex with a younger woman.  Not just anyone, either.   _Noodle_.  He surely shouldn’t have done that to her.  How could he?  How selfish was he?  Surely she’d wake up regretting it too.

But she was already awake, it seemed, and missing.  No one lay beside him, instead there was a patch of warmth on the empty side of the bed.  And beyond it, on a small table, was a small plate with (correctly prepared) sausages and pancakes.  Still quite warm.  And, as it was soon revealed, delicious.  Almost as good as Russel’s cooking, but not quite.

He finished the breakfast and snuck away to the shower in his own room, where he cleaned up and got dressed.  From that point, his ears led him to the recording studio, a room he didn’t think he’d have to set foot in again.  But there he was, and within, he found Noodle sitting at a keyboard, playing something he’d never heard before.  But it was happy and upbeat, quite nice.  It wasn’t long before she noticed he was in the room with her, and she immediately walked over to him with a massive smile and wrapped her arms around his neck, which required just a little stretching to accomplish.  She said “Good morning!”  He said “I’m sorry.”  This caused her to release him and take a step back.

“2D… you shouldn’t be sorry.”

“Of course I should be!  I… I shouldn’t have done that to you.  That was your first time, and-”

“And I can’t imagine anything better, Toochi.  I still love you.  And… I don’t regret what happened.  So please don’t say anything that’ll change that, okay?  Please?”

“But Noodle-”

“Look at it this way.  I love you.  You love me.  We both had a good night, and no one got hurt.  I don’t feel bad about it, and you shouldn’t either.  I want to be with you, Toochi.  I know it’s weird to a lot of people, but I don’t care.  I want to be with you, and you want that too, right?  So why can’t we be together?”

“I’m a lot older-”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“But-”

“ _It doesn’t matter._  Please, Stuart… I’ve waited long enough… and if you really do feel so bad about last night, then I’ll start feeling bad about it too.  And I don’t want that.  Right now, it’s a great memory, and I see it as the start of… well, the rest of our lives.  So… can it be?”

“The… the rest of our lives?”

Noodle sighed.  “Well… yes.  That’s what I had in mind.”

“But… what will people think?  We’ll have cameras and microphones in our faces for weeks when we get back, and-”

“Yes, people will judge us.  But that doesn’t matter.  Nothing else matters to me if you and I can be together.”

“Russel will kill me.”

“...that matters.  We don’t have to tell him.  Or the public, really.”

“Do you want to have a secret relationship with me Noodle?”

She grinned a little, unable to help it.  “Well, I never really thought of it that way… but now that you mention it, that sounds kinda fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Well, I suppose, okay, if you want.”

“2D…”

“Yeah?”

“That is the least romantic ‘yes’ in the history of mankind.  But I’ll take it.”

She smiled, wrapped herself around him again, and kissed him on the lips.  He did not kiss back; he merely allowed her to toy with the surface of his face.  This left her slightly disappointed as she pulled away.

“Still not entirely comfortable with this, huh?”

“I dunno, Noods… maybe in time?”

She shook her head.  “‘Maybe in time’... something I’ve been telling myself for years.”

“Well… I’m not saying that we can’t be… _together_ , like you said.  Just… it’ll be a while before I’m one hundred percent comfortable with it, yeah?”

“Okay, that’s fine.  I’m gonna go talk to Russel real quick, I made him breakfast too and I wanna see how I did.”

“It was fantastic.”

“Of course _you_ think so, but Russel’s not so in love with me.  At least, I hope not.”

As she left, 2D chuckled to himself, saying, “Yeah, that would be even more weird.”

\--

“So?”

“Hmm?”

“Was it good?  The food?”

“Oh, that.  Yeah, Noodle, it was, uh, really good.”

Russel was looking out over the water, sounding rather annoyed as he spoke.  Angry, almost.

“Russel?”

“What?”

“Is something bothering you?”

“I’m fine, baby girl.  Just, uh… how are you?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“Still heartbroken over that guy you were telling me about?”

“Uhh… why do you ask?”

“I just heard some stuff recently, that’s all.”

“What kind of stuff.”

“You really wanna talk about this now?”

She visibly began to worry.  “Talk about what?”

“I heard you last night, Noods, moaning.  Musta left a window open or something, and I could hear you loud and clear.  Needless to say, it made me real uncomfortable.”

Now it was Noodle’s turn to be uncomfortable.  “Oh…”

“But you know what the worst part is?”

“What?”

“I heard someone else too.”

 _Shit_.  “Are you sure?”

“Completely sure.  And I’m also completely sure that the only people on this trash heap are you, me, and that blue-haired idiot.”

Noodle took a step back, thankful that the man had not turned to face her.  She didn’t know what to think, what to do, what to say…  Part of her simply wanted to run, deal with this another time.  But it was probably better to just get it out of the way.  “Are you mad at me?”

“At you?  Nah.”

“...at 2D?”

“...honestly, Noodle, I don’t know what the hell to think right now.  Just… get outta here, and get him out here to talk to me, okay?  I need to see him face-to-face.”

“You’re not gonna hurt him, are you?”

“If I did that, then I’d be hurting you, wouldn’t I?”

“Actually, yes.  Thanks.”

“Just get ‘D and wait inside until he comes back, okay?”

“...okay.”

\--

“Hey Toochi?”

“What is it, love?”

“Russel knows.”

“He what?”

“He knows, he heard us having sex.”

“Oh shit…”

“And he wants to talk to you.”

“What?  No!  Nonononononononono…”

“He promised he wouldn’t hurt you, and-”

“Bullshit!  He’s going to kill me!”

“2D, please, you’re gonna need to confront him eventually, so it’s better to get it over with as soon as possible.  Please?  For me?”

“...fine.”

“You’ll be okay, I promise.”

\--

2D approached without speaking, finding the massive man still staring out over the ocean.  It was a bright and sunny day, a bit on the warm side but not too severe.  Water was calm, but not completely still.  The stench of the place was a bit less pungent than usual, thankfully.  After standing behind Russel a minute, 2D thought that things might indeed turn out okay.  He opened his mouth, and before he could finish a word, Russel had turned around and had grabbed him by his hair, holding him up at face-height giving a rather intimidating glare.

“‘D…”

“Wha- what?”

“You fucking piece of shit… you fucked my baby girl.”

“Well… yeah.”

Turns out, that was the worst thing 2D could have said, as he immediately found himself planted rather painfully in the ground, bits of broken glass still clinging to his face when Russel lifted im up again.

“2D, I don’t know what the hell was going through that little brain of yours back there, but you better have a clear head right now because you need to listen up, okay?

“Ye- yeah, of, of course, yeah…”

“I don’t know what you think of her, ‘D.  I don’t know whether you just wanted someone to fuck, or whether you legitimately feel for her, or… or what.  But listen to me.  Noodle isn’t just some other chick, alright?  She’s special, and you know it.  So you better treat her right from this moment forward, okay?  She’s been sweet on you since she’s been a teenager, it’s been pretty clear to be honest… and now she’s seems all happy about this.  You seem to make her happy, god knows why.  And because of that, I’m gonna let this go.   _For her_ .  But know this, alright?  If you break her heart… _I’ll break you_.  Understand?”

“Heh heh, yeah, Russ, loud and clear!”

“Good.  Now… I don’t want you to knock her up or anything either.  I know you’re not exactly used to it, but you gotta use a condom every time you two… well, I ain’t gonna say it again.”

“Well, funny story bout that…”

“You didn’t use a condom last time, did you?”

“Uhh… well, no.”

And that’s when 2D found himself flying through the air for a brief moment, before plunging into dark, filthy water.  The impact stung him, the struggle to find the water’s surface instantly exhausted him.  After a moment’s confusion, he opened his eyes, finding himself in the ocean, what looked to be a mile from Plastic Beach, floating in disgusting water he had to be careful not to swallow.  But that was of little concern, for he swore, he could make out the outline of a massive aquatic creature approaching just beneath the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya-
> 
> So I'm back from band camp after... too long, something that is exhausting and takes up massive, massive amounts of time. At long last, I can write again.
> 
> That said, next chapter may be the last. Or maybe not. I might just decide to keep going, not really sure yet.  
> As usual, comments and kudos help a lot.  
> Thanks for reading, you rock.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end.
> 
> Apparently Maybe In Time is the longest 2nu fic on AO3 right now? Huh...

2D’s eyes fluttered open.  There was a pain in his chest, and he sat up quickly coughing and sputtering water from his mouth.  It took a minute for the blurry mess around him to crystalize into an environment.  He almost didn’t realize where he was at first, but a quick glance about revealed that he was not on Plastic Beach.  He was not on dry land.  He was on the Stylo, in its submarine form, sitting up on the table one used to operate on the cyborg.  Conflicting feelings about being off the island gave way to confusion as to just what happened.  The last thing he remembered was seeing a whale and swimming away.

He looked up and found the vehicle’s only other occupant standing over him.  Noodle was staring at him, drenched and panting.  Her face was a blend of irritation and concern, and she had her hand on her forehead.  They just looked at each other for a moment before she spoke.  “2D…”

“Yeah, love?”

“What the hell?”

“What?”

“I saw Russel throw you in the water so I decided to come out and make sure you made it back okay.  But when I saw you, you were swimming away!  Why would you do that?  There's no land for miles and miles!”

“I saw the whale, and, and-”

“And you swam away from the island.”

“I swam away from the whale!”

She paused for a second.  “2D, that thing wasn’t chasing you.  It was just swimming around.  But you turned away from the island and kept swimming until you passed out and nearly drowned.  I came over and fished you out and… oh, Toochi I was so worried and… never do that again.  Okay?”

“Alright.  I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry, just… don’t scare me like that.”

“Okay…”

He stood up, wobbling a little but soon finding his footing, and walked within an inch of Noodle.

“Hey Noods…”

“Yeah?”

“You’re soaked.”

“Well, I had to drag you in here, didn’t I?”

“Yeah… and, uh, thanks.”

She nodded.  “My pleasure.”

“And Noodle?”

“Yeah?”

“I can see through your shirt a little.”

She shook her head, smiling.  “You are a child, you know that?”

“What?  Cause I like looking at your boobs?”

“Cause you mentioned it.”

“Well I don’t exactly want you going back in front of Russ like that, now do I?”

Noodle closed her eyes and stepped back, turning her head slightly toward the ground.  “Well, Toochi… I had something else in mind.”

“What?”

“Well… before you got up, I decided to listen to  _ On Melancholy Hill _ again.  Seemed appropriate.  But it gave me an idea.”

“What idea?”

“You wrote half the song, what do you think it is?”

“...find a manatee?”

  
“No.”

“...what is it then?”

“A few lyrics say, uh, ‘So let’s set out to sea,’ ‘So call in the submarines, round the world we’ll go,’ ‘If you can’t get what you want, then come with me’... well… why not?  We’re in a submarine at sea right now.  Just you and me.  I was thinking… we could take this thing and just leave, you know?  Run away.  I’m pretty sure Gorillaz is done for, so… let’s start a life together!”

2D couldn’t take his gaze off of her.  She had a hopeful glimmer in her eyes, a little bounce to her movements; she was genuinely excited to do this.  But he wasn’t sure.

“I dunno, Noods, this is an awful big decision.”

“Don’t you love me?”

“Well, of course I-”

“And I love you.  So… why not?”

“Because, well, I- I don’t know.  You know I’m still not even all the way comfortable with even being your… you know.”

“You can say it, go on!”

“Your  _ boyfriend  _ or whatever.  And you’re asking me to just… run away.”

She sighed.  “Is that a no forever?  Or just… not yet?”

“Noodle, it’s-”

She cut him off with a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to meet her.  He didn’t kiss her back at first, but she refused to release until he did.  And when he did, they both refused to stop until quite some time had passed, both gasping for air and taking a step back.

“Heh… so, Toochi?  What were you gonna say?”

“Yes!”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, Noods!  It’ll be fun, right?”

“Uhh… sure!!”

And she kissed him again, impressed by her own persuasive power.  Later she’d pilot the submarine away from the island, northwest across the Pacific.  But she wouldn't go far.  She knew his response was due to the high of the kiss.  So she guided the submarine away until Plastic Beach was out of sight, then she let it coast far more slowly toward land, refusing to accelerate until she got some indication from 2D that he hadn’t changed his mind.  It was important that she not be the one to bring it up, not wanting to accidentally encourage him to say something just to make her happy.  No, he couldn't even bring it up directly himself.  She had to find out indirectly, get him to say it without really realizing.  Fortunately, it wasn't too hard.

Noodle had packed the submarine full of days worth of fuel and food and clothes for both of them.  She didn't necessarily anticipate that they’d run away together in a sort of sweeping romantic gesture, but she did fear they’d have to make a quick escape from the island and might not see land for a long time.  One cannot be too cautious when being pursued by pirates.  The decision to effectively start a new life was one she made just as quickly as 2D had.  The idea first formed mere minutes before she suggested it.  But the more she thought about it, the more appealing it became.

Days on a stagnant submarine were beginning to take a toll on 2D.  Noodle hadn't told 2D that they were moving at reduced speed, and surprisingly, he hadn't noticed himself.  But he did notice that the living space was tiny, and that there was no television.  He noticed that looking at the empty ocean got really old really fast, and he realized that man was not meant to spend so much time all cooped up.  Yes, they got out and went swimming from time to time.  Yes, they slept together (whether that included sex or not), and yes, they simply talked and enjoyed each others’ company all the time.  But 2D was getting tired of the submarine nonetheless, and grew to believe that if he were stuck onboard with anyone  _ but _ Noodle, he’d have gone mad or killed the other person.  Instead, he only complained, and Noodle got the opportunity she was waiting for.

“When d’ya think we’ll reach land?”

He lay once again on the operating table, playing with an old yoyo he had found floating about the day before.  Noodle was at the helm, effectively pretending to steer.  Of course, she froze and turned around.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I think it’s getting pretty boring spending so much time in the sub, yeah?  I wanna know when we can get off and… do whatever.”

“I think we’re still closer to Plastic Beach than we are to continental land… if you wanna go back.”

“Go back to Russ?  He’ll break my spine!  Besides, I'll be just as happy if we never see him or Murdoc again.  It took a while, but now I'm really excited about this.  I love you.”

She smiled.  He couldn't see it, for he was still on his back on the table.  But it was perfect.  She kicked the vehicle into action and immediately it sped roughly on the direction of New Zealand.  They were close enough to the surface that she could tell it was sunset.  In fact, she could see the sun.  And it was beautiful.

As her partner started snoring behind her and sundown fell to true night, she stared forward, finally satisfied with every aspect of her life, hopeful for what would come next.

 

\--

 

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, everybody!!
> 
> Short? Anticlimactic? Yeah, I know, but I felt it appropriate.  
> And don't worry, even though I'm done with Maybe In Time, the story is NOT over.  
> This is the story of how they got together. The story of their life after Plastic Beach now begins. So be on the lookout for that.  
> Also, I'm writing a few Gorillaz one-shots- not just 2nu ones, but general Gorillaz ones. They will, unless otherwise stated, take place in the same 'universe' as Maybe In Time and what follows. First one will be done soon; the story of Noodle first discovering she loved 2D.
> 
> Thanks for reading. I am so glad people have liked this story.
> 
> You rock.


End file.
